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CSR
Made in Germany
CSR
Made in Germany
CSR Made in germany
Welcome
Message
“CSR Made in Germany” stands for the many companies in
Germany that have made corporate social responsibility
a central part of their business philosophy. It is the
quality parameter of sustainable economic management.
Responsible companies reduce their “ecological footprint,”
respect labor and social standards, and engage in community
projects.
Dr. Ursula von der Leyen, Federal Minister of Labour
and Social Affairs
CSR means voluntary commitments that go far beyond what is
required by law. This is not only good for the environment and
for society at large, but also for the companies themselves. It is
in the interests of companies to save energy, for example, thus
reducing their production costs, or to engage in community
activities, thus convincing their staff that they work for a
particularly active and responsible company.
Economic success and sustainability belong together – today
more than ever before. By providing many practical examples,
this publication shows how companies, policymakers, civil
society, and researchers jointly shape “CSR Made in Germany.”
I hope that this publication offers you interesting insights and
new ideas!
CSR Made in Germany
p. 3
CSR Made in germany
Content
Welcome Message
3
Dr. Ursula von der Leyen
German Perspective
6
22
Climate Change
34
Good Work
6
The National Sustainability Strategy
of the German Federal Government
24
World Champion in Resource
Efficiency
36
Responsible Market Players Benefit
from Fair Work
8
The “CSR in Germany” Action Plan
26
EnBW: Offshore Technology in the
Context of the Energy Change
38
Bosch – A Century of Socially
Conscious Employment
9
CSR Is a Crosscutting Issue
28
Bayer: Intelligent Technology
for Climate Protection
40
Deutsche Telekom:
Pushing Forward Female
Careers
29
Evonik: Adjusting to Climate Change
10
14
20
Rio 1992 – 2012:
Looking Back into the Future
CSR in Germany – Tradition,
Topicality, and Challenges
Why the Honorable Merchant
Wins in the End
30
32
“Germany’s climate policy will need
to be coherent and transparent”
Fraunhofer Institute:
Solutions for Sustainable Mobility
German Perspective
6
41
IG BCE: Globalization of Social
Responsibility
42
Volkswagen: Production Sites
As Examples of Corporate Social
Responsibility
34
Good Work
CSR Made in germany
Global Standards
44
Sustainable Consumption
Sustainable Economic Development
As a Means of Achieving Justice in
Globalization
Improving Efficiency
Through Competition
68
“Many Companies are Already
Embracing Responsibility”
The Sustainable Shopping
Basket
70
“Living Responsibility”
at Deutsche Post DHL
72
BASF: Securing Yields
Through Sustainability
74
Water for Megacities
76
Mercedes-Benz in South Africa:
Siyakhana Health Trust
Responsible Entrepreneurship in a
Global Context
56
CSR and Consumers –
A New Culture of Interaction
48
Cotton Made in Africa – Helping
People to Help Themselves
58
The German Round Table
Codes of Conduct
60
52
53
TÜV Rheinland: FIT5 –
Factory Improvement Training
in China
61
Corruption in Organizations:
Why Individuals Give In to the
Temptation
62
64
Societal Responsibility
66
46
50
54
Bionade –
For the Region and the
Environment
Tradition + Convictions =
Success
Global Standards
44
German Perspective
The National Sustainability
Strategy of the German Federal
Government
By Johannes Geismann
With the Action Plan for CSR, the German
Federal Government aims to have
more companies recognize their social
responsibility and use it to make their
business strategies sustainable. CSR is
therefore closely related to the National
Sustainability Strategy.
The Sustainability Strategy was adopted in 2002 to mark the
United Nations World Summit in Johannesburg, and since
then it has regularly been further refined, most recently in a
progress report early in 2012. The aim of the Strategy is to make
sustainability a fixed guiding principle for policy in a variety
of areas. Because the diverse political challenges cannot be
met through one strategy alone, sustainability must also be a
consideration in other strategies and decisions. The Sustainability Strategy is based on a clear premise: that what we do
today should not deprive future generations of the chance to
enjoy prosperous lives and a healthy natural environment.
If we wish to maintain our living standards, the decisions we
make must have equal and lasting viability for the economy,
the environment, and society.
The responsibility for sustainability within the federal government lies directly with the Federal Chancellery. This is not only
because of the interdisciplinary nature of the Strategy, which
affects all policy areas equally; it is also and above all an expression of the political importance of sustainability. The central
regulating authority for the Strategy is the State Secretaries
Committee, which consists of representatives from all ministries and is directed by the head of the Federal Chancellery.
Individual topics in sustainability are addressed on the basis
of long-term working programs, including external expertise.
Through this process, all ministries collaborate to implement
the Strategy and develop it further.
This is particularly true for the new progress report on the
Sustainability Strategy that has been adopted early in 2012. The
report focuses on sustainable economic systems, climate and
energy, as well as sustainable water policy. The Sustainability
Strategy thus deals with topics that are expected to be brought
forward at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development
in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012 as part of one of the key themes:
"a green economy in the context of poverty eradication and
sustainable development.”
With the 2012 progress report, the German Federal Government
is demonstrating the importance of sustainability in individual
p. 6
CSR Made in Germany
German Perspective
policy areas. The progress of the Strategy is being tracked using
indicators for 21 subject areas that together make up a total of
38 targets. The current independent analysis from the Federal
Statistical Office shows positive development in such areas as
economic efficiency, employment among older members of
the workforce, and protection of the climate.
federal government ultimately cannot prescribe sustainable
development; that requires a concerted effort by the state, business, and civil society. This is where the value in the activities
that companies are undertaking as part of CSR comes in: They
are voluntarily taking on social responsibility above and beyond
legal guidelines, thereby making an important contribution
to sustainable development.
Sustainability checks are a valuable instrument to connect the
Strategy to regulation. Since 2009, as part of the Regulatory
Impact Assessment, each law and ordinance has been checked
against the effects that the proposal will have for aspects of
sustainable development. The results are then monitored by
a parliamentary advisory council on sustainable development
set up by the German Bundestag.
The federal government strives to include private citizens
when further refining the Strategy, and is involved at all levels
in strengthening collaboration on sustainability. After all, the
CSR Made in Germany
Johannes Geismann is the head of Directorate-General
III (Social, Health, Labor Market, Infrastructure, and
Social Policy) in the Federal Chancellery.
p. 7
German Perspective
The “CSR in Germany”
Action Plan
The development of a national strategy to promote corporate
social responsibility (CSR) in Germany will help to overcome the
main challenges in a 21st-century globalized world. Elements
of this strategy include responses to climate change, good
and fair working conditions, globally binding labor and social
standards, the fulfillment of social responsibility through civic
engagement and corporate citizenship, and, most importantly,
sustainable consumption.
On October 6, 2010, the German Federal Government adopted
the “CSR in Germany” Action Plan to address these issues. Based
on suggestions from the National CSR Forum – an advisory body
of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS) – the
Action Plan will promote CSR activities by companies and make
these more visible. The Federal Ministry of Labor and Social
Affairs is in charge of developing and implementing the CSR
Action Plan within the federal government.
civil society that demands and rewards CSR, and an active policy
that formulates social goals and creates a positive environment
for CSR. CSR is voluntary, but it is not discretionary. If all social
groups fulfill their rightful responsibilities, then we can master
global challenges together, to the mutual benefit of economic,
social, and environmental ends. This triumvirate – government,
business, and society – is the basic idea behind CSR.
The “CSR in Germany” Action Plan allows the Federal Government to pursue the following strategies:
•Improve embedding of CSR into business and public administration
•Increase participation by small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) in CSR
•Heighten visibility and credibility of CSR
The federal government intends to consolidate and expand
corporate social responsibility using the Action Plan. It will also
be necessary to help those corporations that act responsibly to
set an example for others, to create more incentives to take on
social responsibility, and to offer assistance in translating the
concept of CSR into everyday corporate behavior.
The Action Plan builds on existing CSR initiatives and networks
within the federal government, the business sector, and civil
society. CSR success depends on committed companies that
have integrated CSR into their corporate strategies, a vibrant
p. 8
•Optimize political conditions for CSR
•Contribute to the social and environmental composition of
globalization
It is important to the federal government that existing structures
be used to implement the CSR Action Plan, thereby avoiding the
establishment of parallel structures and harnessing synergies.
The multistakeholder approach has proved extraordinarily
worthwhile for fostering corporate social responsibility and
guarantees ongoing dialog with all actors and social groups
involved. With that said, the National CSR Forum will carry
on its work even after it has submitted its recommendations
to the federal government. One of the main priorities of the
forum will be to advise and assist the federal government
with the implementation of the present Action Plan. The more
closely that the various forces in society can work together on
its implementation, and the more wholeheartedly that they
embrace their role as multipliers, the more powerful the “CSR
in Germany” Action Plan will be as an incentive for a sustainable economic system.
CSR Made in Germany
German Perspective
CSR Is a Crosscutting
Issue
The CSR Forum was appointed by the German Federal Government to contribute to
the development of a national Action Plan
for CSR. It supports the inclusion of the
knowledge and experience of substantial
corporative actors within the discourse
of corporate social responsibility. Furthermore, it is to implement a platform
for dialog between various actors. We
spoke with forum participant Birgit Riess
from the Bertelsmann Foundation about
her experiences and outlook.
What was the goal of the CSR Forum and
what did the working groups contribute to
the National CSR Strategy?
Birgit Riess: The first goal was to develop a
common understanding of CSR. This shall
serve as the basis for further cooperation
within the CSR Forum.
The heterogonous composition of the
Forum was a challenge, but it presented
chances as well and discussions were
very constructive. In the following sessions of the CSR Forum, the participants
agreed on six political spheres of activity. The members of the CSR Forum, as
well as additional experts, developed
a specification of objective targets,
topics, as well as further instruments
and measures for particular spheres of
activity based on hearings, scientific
expertise, and debates.
The outcomes of the working groups
constitute the basis for the recommendatory report of the CSR Forum, which was
CSR Made in Germany
forwarded to the German Federal Minister
of Labor and Social Affairs, Ursula von
der Leyen, on July 1, 2010.
The German strategy brings together
many fields of action. Is this a chance to
create a political framework of corporate
responsibility?
Unconnected initiatives of the different
political departments have been united
by the National Sustainability Strategy.
Furthermore, the Strategy puts a strategic
focus on the central spheres of activity
for the various initiatives. It helps in using the potential of CSR more efficiently
through a clear definition of the political
framework for corporate involvement. The
federal government has to be evaluated
on the basis of the extent of interagency
coordination with regard to the implementation of the National CSR Strategy.
Like the Aristotelian wisdom that the
whole is more than the sum of its parts,
the demand for coordination within this
context is to be more than a condensed
presentation of individual activities of
the different ministries. Coordination
should contain a reconcilement about
the extent to which individual measures
are capable of unfolding synergies.
Furthermore, compliance between the
federal and state government levels
would be recommendable. To support
its development, it will be necessary
to enshrine CSR as a crosscutting issue
within the traditional political structures, which, on occasion, follow their
own logic.
Birgit Riess
Birgit Riess is Director of the
Bertelsmann Stiftung and
member of the CSR Forum.
The Forum wants to consult the federal
government concerning future CSR topics.
What exactly do you have in mind? How
can the CSR Forum contribute in order to
communicate and measure progress?
The CSR Forum supports the implementation of the CSR Strategy as an
independent advisory body of the federal
government.
It ensures a continuous dialog on CSR
between political, economic, and civil
society actors and also that new issues
on current topics are examined, for
example the German contribution to
Rio+20. Furthermore, the members of
the CSR Forum shall be included in the
implementation of CSR strategies.
One example is the European Social Fund
program, which concerns the support
for and social responsibility of small and
medium-sized enterprises. In this way,
existing initiatives and networks could
contribute their specific competences,
existing structures could be used, and
synergies can be established.
p. 9
German Perspective
Rio 1992 – 2012:
Looking Back into the Future
p. 10
CSR Made in Germany
German Perspective
By Hans-Peter Repnik
The concept of sustainable development first came to international attention in the 1980s when the UN World Commission
on Environment and Development made it the central idea
of their deliberation, defining it as development that meets
the needs of the present without compromising the needs of
future generations. The concept ties together the concerns for
the carrying capacities of natural systems with the social and
economic challenges humanity faces – including equity and
justice, within and between generations. At the Earth Summit in
Rio de Janeiro in 1992, this concept was elaborated further into
a set of principles (the Rio Principles) and a program of action
(Agenda 21). It launched important international processes, be
it in the field of climate and biodiversity or the local application
of Agenda 21. Sustainable consumption and production was
recognized as an overarching theme to link environmental
and development challenges and an essential requirement
to achieve sustainability: “The major cause of the continued
deterioration of the global environment are the unsustainable patterns of consumption and production, particularly in
industrialized countries, which is a matter of grave concern,
aggravating poverty and imbalances.”
In Rio in 1992, the political leaders agreed that sustainability
also includes the economy. But processes such as the global
effort toward sustainable consumption and production could
not hold up against the severe setbacks due to an economic
globalization that ignored the limits of the planet. The effects
are being felt worldwide and have important implications
for the achievement of sustainable development and the Millennium Development Goals, including the disruption of the
climate, depletion of natural resources, and the deprivation
of people’s human rights, such as education and decent jobs.
In response to the unprecedented challenges posed by the
emergence of multiple and interlinked global crises the world
faces – including environment, climate, food, water, finance,
and economy – the concept of the green economy has evolved.
The Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development of
2002 has called for the development of a Ten Year Framework
of programs in order to accelerate the shift toward sustain-
CSR Made in Germany
able consumption and production. In 2003 the global and
informal multistakeholder Marrakech Process was launched.
It aims to promote the development and implementation of
policies, programs, and projects on sustainable consumption
and production as well as to contribute to the elaboration of
the Ten Year Framework. Germany has contributed to the Marrakech Process in various ways. It has partnered with a range
of international institutions to develop an African eco-labeling
mechanism that promotes appropriate environmental and social standards in the production process and assists in securing
better market access for sustainable products in regional and
global markets. As a member of the task forces on sustainable
lifestyles and sustainable products, Germany has been involved
in providing and exchanging expertise and experiences with
the goal of achieving greater international cooperation.
Voting for an agenda Rio+20
The Rio Summit in 1992 bridged the gap between environment and development for the first time. Now, 20 years later,
the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development
in Rio in 2012 is expected to focus on the economy. Developing green, inclusive economies in the context of sustainable
development and poverty eradication is one of the two major
themes of this conference. It is currently referred to as Rio+20, a
formulation designed to emphasize continuity and the 20-year
anniversary. Of course, Rio+20 will have to assess the progress
made in the last 20 years and evaluate implementation gaps
and challenges. But there is much more at stake in offering
choices to our mutually interdependent world in order to get
a clear vision of the next 20 years. It is necessary to find new
ways and means for sustainable development.
I suggest that as we approach Rio+20, that future-bound orientation underpins the openness in considering the broader
agenda of sustainable development. Stakeholders need to
engage in “common but differentiated responsibility” on the
state and regional levels and act as protagonists within their
areas of influence. Rio+20 shall start a process of transition
p. 11
German Perspective
toward investing in and preserving natural and societal capital.
The challenge is to make economic growth and job creation
inclusive and compatible with ecosystem services. There is no
single way forward that can be applied the same way in every
country. The notion of common but differentiated responsibility, which was first proclaimed at the Earth Summit in Rio 1992,
encourages every nation to find its appropriate way to meet
the goals of sustainable development.
Lessons learned: The German Sustainability Code
Business has a role to play. Today’s economy is characterized
by globalization and megatrends – only some of which can be
foreseen. Societies have become more vulnerable to investment
trends and strategies. The financial and economic crisis has
spelled out the risks for everyone. The paradigms that have
been accepted unquestioningly in the past decades – freedom,
voluntariness, and unlimited trust in the invisible hand of
markets – are unstable. The economy is in need of a modern
framework for business action more than ever. If this framework is not clear, the investment gap will hardly be closed. One
actor with a potential leveraging effect is the capital market.
The German Council for Sustainable Development created the
German Sustainability Code in partnership with representatives
from the business sector and the capital market. It is a specific
contribution toward a sustainable economy. Putting forward 20
criteria, this transparency standard describes the core issues of
sustainable management and delivers key performance indicators for environmental, social, and governmental aspects in 20
European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies indicators
and 27 Global Reporting Initiative indicators. The German
Sustainability Code helps investors and other stakeholders
to assess entrepreneurial sustainable action that is oriented
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio Summit, was a major United Nations
conference held in Rio de Janeiro 1992.
p. 12
CSR Made in Germany
German Perspective
toward the long term, and to assess investment risks and opportunities more effectively.
Rio+20 will be a success if the concept of a green economy is
filled with concrete visions, pathways, and roadmaps toward
sustainable development. Companies and investors need planning reliability for their investments. Having this in mind, the
German Sustainability Code can help to provide more freedom
for entrepreneurial activities. The aim is to create a market that
rewards the sustainable actions of companies.
It is important to take the business sector into account and to
create new partnerships. The targets of national sustainability
strategies will not be reached without the contributions from
and support by the business sector. The export of negative external environmental and social effects into other parts of the
world is unethical. Measurement, reporting, and verification
are keys to success. Only what is quantifiable is manageable.
Good reports expose target conflicts and try to solve them
with stakeholder engagement. The more that investors ask
for information based on the German Sustainability Code,
ask for company declarations of conformity, and create their
own assessments of this qualified instrument, the broader the
movement will be toward reliable and quantifiable disclosure.
The clearer the core requirements for sustainability management within companies, the more level the playing field will be
for current and future-oriented competition. With trustworthy
transparency tools such as the Sustainability Code, society will
voluntarily give businesses the license to operate. It is common
knowledge that trust lowers transaction costs. The business
sector and financial market players have gambled away a lot
of trust in the last few years.
direction and a process. The focus must be put on new forms
of technological innovations, on ways of promoting greater
efficiency in the use of energy, and on reinforcing social arrangements to ensure social and fiscal stability and cohesion.
What is needed here is an investment in visionary competencies,
in new and meaningful cooperation and communication efforts between politics, the business sector, science, and society.
Approaches to greening the economy should build on collectively shared responsibility and accountability. This needs to
become a dominant cultural feature. It has to start with those
who are in charge of running the economy today. It is also a
requirement of modern policymaking in partnership.
The well-known definition for sustainability given by the World
Commission on Environment and Development includes some
not so well-known aspects: “In essence, sustainable development
is a process of change in which the exploitation of resources,
the direction of investments, the orientation of technological
development and institutional change are all in harmony and
enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs
and aspirations.” The requirement to shape development “sustainably” applies to all people and countries. These aims, put into
writing in 1987, are still valid today. If this should still be reality
20 years after the Rio Summit 2012, the vision of 1987 will finally
be truth. We need to move forward – for the sake of companies,
for the sake of the society, and for the sake of the planet.
Sustainability management practices in
politics and business
Leaders in politics, business, and civil society need to do more
in order to meet the global challenges of climate change, depletion of natural resources, and the widening rich-poor divide.
Creating an inclusive and sustainable economy indicates a
CSR Made in Germany
Hans-Peter Repnik is Chairman of the German Council
for Sustainable Development (RNE), long-standing
Member of Parliament, and former Secretary of State
for International Development Cooperation.
p. 13
German Perspective
CSR in Germany – Tradition,
Topicality, and Challenges
p. 14
CSR Made in Germany
German Perspective
By Prof. Dr. Josef Wieland
Society is based upon a moral consensus among its members.
This consensus is characterized by common values and the
understanding that moral anarchy destroys society and
economy. Justice, fairness, honesty, integrity, and responsibility are the values that establish the backbone of a social
community. Individuals and organizations are called upon to
align their operations and decisions toward these values and
to contribute to their stability. This also applies to the roles
people play in business – and it particularly applies during
times of economic crisis. The theory occasionally circulating
that corporate social responsibility (CSR) could lose significance
in face of the financial and economic crisis is misleading. The
crisis can only be successfully mastered if our moral common
sense and the desire and ability to cooperate are maintained
to our mutual advantage.
The consensus in Germany is that companies bear a responsibility to society. It shapes how companies operate here
on a daily basis, companies that are seen and experienced
as social partnerships, companies that are oriented to sustaining and developing work, qualification, and ecological
standards. A particular German aspect here is the strongly
institutionalized and cooperative character of how this kind
of social responsibility is managed, or, as it is more precisely
termed, “societal” responsibility. On a corporate and societal
level, employers, employees, associations, and unions define
how we work and live our everyday lives in the social market
economy through legally binding agreements – ideally by
reaching a consensus. Politics and the state actively support
this cooperation by establishing a suitable framework of legal,
social, and environmental regulations.
The term “Rhenish capitalism” is how this model is typically
described in Anglo-Saxon literature. The main moral principles behind it were – and continue to be – participative and
distributive justice, that is, co-determination and involvement of all of the company groups and protection against
the risks to life. In the past, it has often been suggested that
the preservation of peace in society is the economic benefit
of this corporate model. Yet, the ways in which the current
CSR Made in Germany
financial crises have been dealt with show that an economically efficient and effective form of corporate governance is
also of benefit. Therefore, social market economy and social
partnership are traditionally the first concepts that companies in Germany perceive as corporate social responsibility.
CSR “Made in Germany” cannot be understood completely
without traditionally including the integration of economic
welfare, corporate success, environmental protection, and
responsibility for society.
Global, national, and regional challenges
Even though the concept of a moral consensus, described above,
and its societal institutionalization, as characterized by Rhenish capitalism, has come under pressure to reform as a result
of issues surrounding global competition, economic success,
and the related crises, it has not “broken.” However, it cannot
be ignored that the required conditions and the scope of duties
that need to be carried out by companies in order for them to
realize their societal responsibility with a view to globalization
have progressed fundamentally in their development.
New players in society such as nongovernmental organizations
have entered the public arena and are catering to a number
of topics that cannot be reduced to participative and distributive justice within German companies. The challenges of the
knowledge-based society and a sustainable economy and the
challenges of demographic and societal development can
only be overcome in Germany if the interaction of all societal
players is networked successfully.
In addition, humane conditions of work; suitable wages; social standards and human rights; environmental conditions;
and societal development are all challenges facing those
German companies today that are involved in establishing
international value-added chains. Discussion and dialog with
all the involved and relevant societal groups – and not just
the economic stakeholders – form the governance structure
for companies to realize not just their societal duties, but also
their social responsibility.
p. 15
1883
German Perspective
Terms such as “multistakeholder dialog” and “CSR standards”
as well as guidelines such as ISO 26000 SR have, by now, become well-established concepts in Germany and indicate that
many companies are an integral part of regional, national,
and international networks. They devote themselves to the
challenges posed by the changes taking place in business
and society.
Multinational and major companies are often the trailblazers
in this area. How local and regional responsibility is perceived
– not least by small and medium-sized companies – is another
characteristic of CSR “Made in Germany.” The majority of SMEs
are committed to social responsibility in this area, holding up
their traditions in the process. According to research studies,
around 58 percent of all SMEs are active in the field of CSR and
spend approximately €6 billion per year on their activities. Interaction and networking in all regions in which CSR stakeholders
are strongly represented are promising approaches to finding
answers to the challenges of structural change that have been
described above. “Partnerships of responsibility as an investment in the region” is one of many important initiatives, the
objective of which is to preserve a functioning community as an
absolute prerequisite for economic efficiency and social stability. That is why the global, national, and regional challenges
in the business world and in society today are characteristic of
CSR “Made in Germany.”
National Strategy for Corporate Social Responsibility
Therefore, corporate social responsibility should not be used
as another term for the traditional German “social responsibility,” nor should it be reduced to this level. As has been
indicated, societal responsibility has long played a traditional
and positive role in Germany. It is, no doubt, a very fruitful
Milestones in German Social and Environmental Legislation
1869
1882
1889
North German Confederation
bans child labor
First sewage treatment plant in
continental Europe begins operations
in Frankfurt am Main
Introduction of pension
insurance
1883
Introduction of obligatory
medical insurance for workers
p. 16
CSR Made in Germany
German Perspective
driving force for the present discussion about CSR; however,
it is not identical. It is more a matter of companies voluntarily
assuming responsibility for the stability and development of
all aspects of society within the context of their competences
and the resources of their core business. For companies are also
members of society and have received their license to operate
and grow from society.
It is therefore in their interests – in their roles in both the business world and in society – to realize that not only is society a
stakeholder of the company, but that companies are also stakeholders of society. The significance of strategic partnerships
between stakeholders in society and of establishing networks
is clear once this fact is understood, thus distinguishing CSR
“Made in Germany.” The objective of the “Action Plan CSR”
resolved on October 6, 2010, by the German Federal Government was, not least, to support cooperation and interaction
1918
1927
Recognition of trade unions
and freedom of association
Introduction of unemployment
insurance on the basis of solidarity
1906
First environmental agency: the Staatliche Stelle für
Naturdenkmalpflege in Preussen (State Agency for the
Care of Natural Monuments in Prussia)
CSR Made in Germany
p. 17
German Perspective
in and between politics, business, unions, and civil society in
order to shape an economy designed to last through times
of rapid and fundamental societal change. This not only
promotes common sense and the ability to identify oneself
with society, but it is also the key to solving forthcoming tasks.
Through its National Strategy for Corporate Social Responsibility, the federal government has specified a series of
well-defined targets and concrete measures that range
from promoting the visibility and integrity of the subject,
to the integration into science, research, development, and
demographic policies through to public households and the
regulation of the financial markets.
In adopting the resolution, the federal government referred
to a recommendation issued by the National CSR Forum on
June 22, 2010, which represents experts from almost 45 societal
organizations and institutions from politics, business, trade
unions, and civil society. Organized into different working
groups, they developed this recommendation together and
passed it unanimously. “Action Plan CSR” defines a framework
as well as the measures in order to focus on the many issues in
this area and to help strengthen the activities of local groups.
Hereby, the German Federal Government, like so many other
European governments, is also complying with the EU’s directive to define national implementation plans for a global
and European CSR. Another aspect of CSR “Made in Germany”
will be achieved with this global and European positioning.
CSR in Germany – challenges
In the near future, realization of the National Strategy for
Corporate Social Responsibility will give direction to the efforts of the CSR movement in Germany: How successful or
Milestones in German Social and Environmental Legislation
1952
Germany ratifies the Convention
for the Protection of Human Rights
and Fundamental Freedoms
p. 18
1974
1986
First environmental
protection legislation
Establishment of the German Federal
Ministry for the Environment, Nature
Conservation and Nuclear Safety
CSR Made in Germany
German Perspective
unsuccessful they are will be monitored and reported about,
and it will be the subject of much critical discussion. In this
way, further development of the topic will be pushed ahead.
Germany’s economy is an integral part of the global division
of work; the dynamics of the economy explain a considerable
share of the processes, described in this article, of continuity
and change in the range of topics understood as corporate social responsibility. Consolidation of the regional and national
aspects of CSR is an ongoing fundamental task.
The European and global perspective is also of particular
significance. Promotion of European integration was the
strategic target named by the initiative “CSR Europe” from
the very beginning. From the outset, this was considered a
contribution toward the worldwide discussion about globally
accepted norms of good corporate behavior. Both tasks need
to be addressed now more than ever.
Dr. Josef Wieland is Professor for Business Administration & Economics with emphasis on Business Ethics at
the University of Applied Sciences, Konstanz.
2002
Germany ratifies the Kyoto Protocol
1994
2011
Environmental protection becomes a
federal goal
Energy policy transformation:
Renunciation of nuclear power
CSR Made in Germany
p. 19
German Perspective
Why the Honorable Merchant
Wins in the End
By Prof. Dr. Joachim Schwalbach
Disregarding the Guiding Principles of the Honorable Merchant
(GPHM) is one of the major reasons for the recent financial crisis.
In this context, for example, one may well call the investment
adviser and former non-executive chairman of the NASDAQ
stock market Bernard L. Madoff a prototype of a dishonorable
merchant (“It’s all a big lie”).
However, one must concede that his misconduct has only
become possible through lax control by the auditors and the
supervisory authorities, as well as through the greed of the
small and big investors for higher returns, irrespective of the
risks. Although the reasons for the financial crisis are manifold,
the misconduct of the actors primarily has something to do
with their individual natures rather than the institutions. In
this respect, returning to the GPHM seems to be imperative.
The GPHM defines criteria of character and culture. Their compliance acts as a harmonizer for the actions of entrepreneurs
and society. You can trace this concept back to medieval Italy.
As early as 1340, Italian merchants’ books talk about the “true
and honest merchant.”
In Germany, the rise of the Hanse is inseparably linked with
the image of the Honorable Merchant. The loose league of
towns that was the Hanse could only achieve a magnitude that
influenced the course of history through the mutual tolerance
and virtuous behavior of its members. In this sense, the GPHM
describes a life philosophy whose realization lets businessmen
become mature, responsible, and above all economically successful personalities.
For the Honorable Merchant, business success and morals are
not divergent interests. On the contrary: Morality, defined as
sense of responsibility, is considered a prerequisite for economic
success that is not only seen as a self-interest but also as a means
to create sustainable values.
In the financial crisis, we can distinguish between two dimensions of respectability: the respectability of the protagonists in
day-to-day business, and taking on corporate responsibility.
p. 20
1| The meaning of honor in day-to-day business – in the form of
confidence in a business partner – is made impressively clear
during the financial crisis through the incapacitation of the
banks as a result of the misconduct of individual financial
managers. The loss of trust resulting from the disregard of
the virtue of honesty led to losses in business and, eventually,
the global business network came to a stop. The leap of faith
necessary in a global financial market with high transaction
speeds no longer existed. Transactions between banks no
longer took place. Without the coordinated intervention of
the governments to renew trust in the markets, the system
most likely would have ground to a halt – with catastrophic
effects on both the global economy and global society. In a
hypothetical world where financial managers followed the
GPHM, the situation would hardly have escalated to such an
extent.
2| The second dimension of the GPHM refers to the societal
responsibility of the financial economy. The honorable financial manager has to counteract the short-term pressure
to yield high returns with a sound character and to defend
his corporate and social responsibility against financial
gamblers and soldiers of fortune. Without governmental
intervention, existing internal control mechanisms seem
inadequate. Global institutions are necessary and desirable
to ensure honesty in the course of business and to sanction
breaches. However, they can never completely replace the
individual responsibilities of Honorable Merchants.
The financial crisis has revealed both societal and intra-corporate
deficits in the basic understanding of responsible, sustainable,
and honorable – and thus successful – management. Hence,
the GPHM is of utmost importance now and will continue to
be so in the future. It should make entrepreneurs and managers aware that responsible behavior is the basis of sustainable
economic success and societal peace. Concentrating on one’s
own historical roots and the present situation may lead to a
contemporary awareness of honesty among entrepreneurs
and managers that expresses a cultural capability of development. A modern Honorable Merchant has a pronounced sense
CSR Made in Germany
German Perspective
Heinrich Sudermann (* 1520; † 1591), German jurist and First
Syndicus of the Hanseatic League. The term “The Honorable
Merchant” originates from the 12th century, shaped in the
German Hanseatic League and Italy.
of responsibility on both the enterprise and the societal levels.
This includes fair behavior toward employees, customers, and
business partners, all of whom he continues to treat according
to virtuous principles aiming to establish and to keep long-term
relations. Social responsibility expresses itself through decisions
and takes into account stakeholders’ interests; engagement
at the company location; informing the public and politics;
defending the social market economy; and paying regard to
environmental protection in all decisions made.
market economy will prevail. The starting point of the discourse
should be the maxim that economy and society are mutually
dependent. On the one hand, enterprises can primarily prosper
in modern societies that are characterized by people with a high
educational background, functioning markets, and distinct
legal certainty. On the other hand, modern societies depend
on successful enterprises, because only they can increase the
wealth of the society through market success. Thus, enterprises
and society are mutually dependent. This also means that activities of the one side are hardly successful if they are carried
out at the expense of the other side.
The targeted discourse between economy, science, politics, and
civil society, however, should not predominantly concentrate
on the abstract enterprise level but rather on the individual
level of the entrepreneur and manager and the bodies controlling them. It is precisely on the individual level that we
have the chance to approach the subject of corporate social
responsibility comprehensibly via the GPHM. In this context,
it can be proved that the vast majority of our executives act
responsibly and that, ultimately, the Honorable Merchant – in
the sense of sustainability and responsibility – is the winner, for
the enterprise and for society.
The GPHM is mostly related to owner-managed and familyowned enterprises, in short: to small and medium-sized businesses. However, it is precisely the medium-sized businesses
that still fail to communicate their principles of responsible
management to a sufficient degree, thereby supporting the
widespread public opinion that all businesswomen and businessmen behave erratically, whereas in fact only a few do. To
stabilize trust in the efficiency of a social market economy, it
is necessary that the small and medium-sized businesses in
particular inform the public about their contributions to the
economy and society.
In addition, the financial crisis should lead to a corporative
discourse on the relationship between society and economy.
Should this discourse not take place, there might be the risk
that those who, in principle, question the model of a social
CSR Made in Germany
Professor Dr. Joachim Schwalbach is Dean of Economics and Management & Science College of Humboldt
University, Berlin.
p. 21
Best Practices
Climate Change
Climate Policy of the German
Federal Government
“As early as 1990, the German Federal Government set up a program with an initial reduction target
for CO2 emissions. Protecting the global climate has been an important element of German policy
ever since, and it is part of the framework for policy on the environment, the economy, research, and
construction.
For example, Germany agreed under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gases to 21 percent
below their 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012, and it is on track to reach this goal. When Germany
was acting G8 president, the summit in June 2007 achieved agreement for the first time among all
industrial nations in the world that the rise in global temperature must be capped at 1.5 - 2.5 degrees
Celsius. In order to achieve this, total worldwide greenhouse gas emissions will need to be halved
by 2050. Germany intends to have almost eliminated its carbon dioxide emissions by this time, so
further development of renewable energies will be necessary.”
Federal Press and Information Office
p. 22
CSR Made in Germany
Climate Change
Best Practices
Primary energy consumption per capita
Oil equivalent in tons*
0–1.5
1.5–3.0
3.0–4.5
4.5–6.0
> 6.0
World: 1.7
* Figures are based exclusively on oil, coal, natural gas, hydropower, and nuclear energy.
Source: BP Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2011
CSR Made in Germany
p. 23
Best Practices
Climate Change
World Champion in
Resource Efficiency
The escalating consumption of raw materials
worldwide is a megatrend of our time. It
presents all economic actors, particularly
companies, with enormous challenges.
Global raw material consumption increased
from around 40 billion tons in 1980 to
approximately 60 billion tons in 2005.
Forecasts indicate that this figure will double
by 2020 and rise even fivefold by 2050.
Aspirations toward ever-greater prosperity
and the rising demand for consumer
goods are not only continuing to increase
in industrialized countries, they are also
being fanned by strong economic growth
in emerging countries such as China, Brazil,
and India.
Rising and highly volatile raw material prices – often further
exacerbated by speculations on the markets – place a burden
on German industry and, for some companies, make it almost
impossible to plan for the future. Added to this is the uncertainty
about the continued availability of raw materials, since, in the
case of various metal ores, for example, Germany is almost wholly
dependent on imports. With material costs accounting for 45
percent of Germany’s manufacturing costs, these problems
can quickly become a serious threat to the viability of the sector.
The challenge is equally great from an ecological point of view.
Every step of raw materials utilization – from extraction and
preparation to processing, consumption, and disposal – burdens
the environment through greenhouse gas emissions, pollution
of soil, air, and water, and damage to ecosystems. In addition,
many raw materials are finite and will no longer be available
to future generations. Fortunately, we do not have to stand
by helpless in the face of these challenges. On the contrary:
Germany has the creativity and innovative strength to establish the conditions we need for more efficient management,
and thus for easing the strain on the environment. I consider
resource efficiency to be a key competence of societies that are
» I consider resource efficiency
to be a key competence of
societies that are viable for the
future. «
Jürgen Becker
p. 24
CSR Made in Germany
Climate Change
viable for the future. Those who invest in resource efficiency
not only conserve natural resources, they also give themselves
a significant competitive advantage. Germany’s technological edge in closed-cycle management and the efficient use of
resources can rightly be described as the country’s source of
raw materials. Therefore, “Made in Germany” also stands for
resource efficiency.
The road to a resource-efficient economy calls for equal commitment from companies, policymakers, and consumers. Many
companies in Germany already make an important contribution through their efforts to pursue sustainable management
strategies and by accepting their social responsibility. Examples
of this are the use of resource-efficient, low-waste production
processes and the development of resource-friendly products
that are durable, easy to repair, reusable, and recyclable. German
consumers are environmentally aware and increasingly want
information on the eco-balance of products and services. New,
resource-friendly business models – ranging from carpools to
machinery hire and chemical leasing – offer opportunities for
innovative businesses. At the same time, sustainable management is gaining importance in education and training.
Policymakers will do all they can to support these positive
developments. As part of its raw materials strategy, the Ger-
Best Practices
man government decided to develop a National Resource Efficiency Program. The aim of the program is to make German
industry less dependent on new raw materials and to curb
the environmental pollution arising from raw materials consumption. The program will list concrete measures to improve
resource efficiency for each step of the value chain – ranging
from sustainable materials extraction to durable, resourcefriendly product design and efficient production processes –
to encourage resource-awareness in consumers and close
material cycles through recovery and recycling.
Germany has the potential to become the most resource-efficient
economy in the world.
I am convinced that this will benefit both industry and the
environment.
Jürgen Becker is permanent State Secretary at the
Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.
CSR Made in Germany
p. 25
Best Practices
Climate Change
EnBW: Offshore Technology in
the Context of the Energy Change
You can recharge your batteries at the
Baltic Sea coast. EnBW (Energie BadenWürttemberg AG) also wants to achieve
this with EnBW Baltic 1 – the flagship
commercial offshore wind farm in Germany
has been converting the Baltic Sea winds
into electrical currents since spring 2011.
But which position can offshore technology
adopt in the energy mix? The energy change
has meant mainly one thing up to now:
turning away from nuclear power. The
equally exciting question is: What can we
achieve in the renewable sector?
p. 26
2011 was a very eventful year for the energy industry. After
the amendment to the Atomic Energy Act, the framework
conditions in the energy industry have changed fundamentally. The energy change is bringing along new, additional
challenges. One main focus is the development and use of
renewable energies. Unlike any other German energy company, EnBW has invested around €2.2 billion in renewable
projects since 2005. Alongside their traditional high dedication to hydropower, they have also been specifically focusing
on wind power.
In May 2011 EnBW sent out a clear signal when the offshore
wind farm EnBW Baltic 1 was put into operation after a threeyear planning and construction period. However, EnBW is
also thinking further ahead: All of the major contracts with a
value of €1 billion have already been allocated for the second
and considerably more ambitious project, EnBW Baltic 2. The
construction of the 80 wind turbines is planned to begin in
CSR Made in Germany
Climate Change
Best Practices
Turnover with climate protection goods
amounting to Euro 27.3 billion
The establishments of the industry and service
sectors in Germany achieved a turnover of
about Euro 44.6 billion in 2009 with goods for
environmental protection. As further reported
by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), goods,
construction operations and services for climate
protection accounted for over 60 percent
(Euro 27.3 billion) of that turnover.
2012. Onshore wind power has proven to be reliable and costefficient up until now, so they want to develop this potential
even further. The onshore wind park capacity has increased
sixfold over the past two years.
Generating offshore energy is more than just onshore energy
on the sea. Wind speeds of more than 120 km/h and waves up
to 5.5 m high cannot be ruled out on the Baltic Sea. Construction puts the highest demands on people and machines: Wind
turbines as high as church steeples need to be anchored in the
deep sandy sea floor, our specifically constructed substation
needs to be secured against heavy currents and tides, and
kilometers of cable-harnesses need to be installed in the sea.
Both German coasts are generally well-suited to generating
electricity from wind power. Due to the high average wind
speeds, the capacity rate is approximately 40 to 50 percent.
The offshore wind not only blows more consistently but also
stronger, thus guaranteeing a higher output.
The decisive point is that we always use the technology responsibly, in a social-political sense. Extensive advance studies
and monitoring during and after construction ensure that the
CSR Made in Germany
impacts on the environment are kept as low as possible. Wind
power will be a central pillar in the future German energy mix.
The trend toward the maximal reduction of CO2 will continue
due to necessary climate protection. By 2050, the German
energy system should ostensibly be free of CO2. EnBW’s aim
is to secure their position as a low-CO2 energy producer and
establish themselves on the market more as a provider of decentralized energy solutions.
The important thing now is to set the course for the development of renewable energies so that EnBW can compete
internationally for locations and mobilize the necessary
capital. By 2020, they want to double the installed output in
the renewables segment to around 6,000 MW. Around €8
billion would be necessary to do this when considering the
current output – an ambitious aim, but one they are taking
on.
The energy change represents not only a challenge, but
moreover a chance to take active part in forming a sustainable focusing of the German energy industry. At EnBW, they
are convinced that it can be achieved – as evidenced by EnBW
Baltic 1 and 2 – but it certainly will not be easy.
p. 27
Best Practices
Climate Change
Bayer: Intelligent Technology
for Climate Protection
The greenhouse gas CO2 is believed to be the main cause of
global warming. Numerous methods have been devised to
lower global CO2 emissions or avoid them altogether. Bayer's
approach to the problem is quite different: The Dream Production project focuses on harnessing the greenhouse gas CO2 as
a raw material for plastics production.
CO2 as a raw material? This issue has fascinated chemists
worldwide for many decades. For a long time it was considered
impossible from a technical point of view. But now German
engineers have made a breakthrough: Working together with
utility supplier RWE, RWTH Aachen University, and the research
institute CAT Catalytic Center, Bayer has developed a process
to turn CO2 waste gas into a raw material. This is used in the
manufacture of a precursor for high-grade polyurethane – a
versatile material that is used in many everyday things, from
seating, mattresses, and lightweight materials to coatings,
adhesives, and highly efficient insulating materials.
Making climate-unfriendly carbon dioxide accessible as a raw
material for high-tech materials necessitated a major innovative leap in technology. To date, it has required a great deal of
energy to use CO2 for polymer synthesis. As part of its precursor
project, Dream Reaction, Bayer researchers found a catalyst
that enables the use of CO2 in plastic products. Without this,
the Dream Production initiative would not have been possible.
The partners involved in the project cover the entire value
chain – from the raw material to the finished product. Under
Bayer’s project management, synergies in areas such as raw
material availability and catalysis can be optimally harnessed.
Since February 2011, Bayer MaterialScience has operated a
pilot plant at Chempark Leverkusen in which CO2 is built into
a chemical precursor for polyurethanes. The carbon dioxide
comes from the waste gas generated at one of RWE Power’s
lignite power plants. There, the CO2 is separated from the flue
gas stream, made accessible in a liquefaction and filling plant,
and stored as a raw material for polyurethane products. As a
result, it should be possible to partially replace scarce crude
oil with carbon dioxide, which is available in huge quantities.
p. 28
Some 5 percent of the oil extracted each year is needed for
plastics manufacture. CO2 could be used here in place of oil
because, like oil, it contains carbon – an essential component
for the chemical industry. This is a real contribution toward
conserving resources and protecting the climate. The first
products should reach market maturity by 2016. Using greenhouse gases as raw material instead of fossil fuels like oil will
make prices of end-products less dependent on volatile crude
oil prices. Therefore, in the future, consumers will benefit from
more stable calculations and prices. Additionally, they will
contribute to carbon reduction and mitigation by consuming
such products.
CSR Made in Germany
Climate Change
Best Practices
Evonik: Adjusting to
Climate Change
Climate change, population growth, and rising standards of
living are increasing the pressure on existing water resources
that are already scarce. If methods are not found to adapt to
climate change, food security will disappear. Evonik, through
its STOCKOSORB system (STOCKOSORB increases the utilizable
water-holding capacity of soils and potting mixes on a longterm basis), can make an important contribution to combating
soil erosion. The soil aid can absorb many times its own weight
in water and should make reforestation easier. This development recently won Evonik the Responsible Care Award from
the European Chemical Industry Council.
Morocco, which enjoys a Mediterranean climate in some parts,
is not a classic desert state, but long-lasting periods of drought
are destroying once fertile regions here as well. The Argan tree
is native to a region that is approximately 800,000 hectares in
size. Its versatile uses and very robust nature make the Argan
an ideal agricultural crop. Its hard wood serves as a building
material, its leaves and tender shoots feed livestock in the region,
and the pit of its fruit produces premium oil. Since the tree is
resistant to heat and needs little water, it grows in areas where
otherwise there would be only desert. Yet the Argan population
has been continuously decreasing for a number of years. There
are a variety of reasons, one in particular being that the stock has
been greatly reduced because of climate change, clear-cutting,
and overgrazing. In order to put a halt to this decline, UNESCO
declared the remaining Argan forest a biosphere reserve in 1998.
In recent years, however, the level of the water table in the region
has lowered considerably. One of the reasons for this is the use
of the water in industrial agriculture. The effects of this policy
are being noticed by the people who live on the Souss-Massa
basin in the Atlas Mountains: “There are many farmers who
have lost their livelihoods because the groundwater is being
pumped away. This has made the water table so low that they
can no longer get to it with their traditional wells,” explains
Jürgen Gräbener of the German company Eco Consult. In the
meantime, the water table is dropping by up to three meters
a year, and survival has become increasingly difficult under
these conditions for the Argan trees as well.
CSR Made in Germany
The STOCKOSORB soil additive should help solve the problem:
“The granulate is what is known as a superabsorbent. It can
absorb and store many times its mass in water, so that it can
improve the water storage ability of poor soil,” reports Annette
zur Mühlen, an Evonik expert on innovative agricultural solutions. The granulate slowly and evenly releases its stored water,
reducing the stress on plants at precisely the times when there
is a threat of the soil drying out because of long-term drought.
Farmers are already enjoying these positive attributes for vegetable crops, animal feed cultivation, and forestry. They have
seen clear success come harvest time: The concrete increases
observed have been anywhere from 40 to 150 percent.
p. 29
Best Practices
Climate Change
“Germany’s climate policy
will need to be coherent and
transparent”
Global warming is one of
the biggest challenges of
mankind in the 21st century.
Mitigation and adaptation
measures must include,
among other things, a clear
energy scenario focusing
on renewables and early
participation of the general
public, says Klaus Milke,
Chairman of Germanwatch.
German industry, he adds,
is already a champion in
environmental technology.
They should use their knowhow to support those who
suffer from climate change.
Is Germany’s energy turnaround a model
for a new global energy concept? How can
it be brought to diverse regions around
the world and be adapted to their specific
conditions?
Klaus Milke: Germany’s phase-out of nuclear
energy and the so-called Energiewende
is somehow a model laboratory for the
great global transformation toward a
low-carbon society in 2050, especially
with its high unconditional reduction
targets (a reduction in emissions of 40
percent by 2020) taking the 2 degrees
Celsius limit into account.
This was very obvious at the climate
summit in Durban, where there were
many events and questions on how the
Germans would do it in detail. And many
from abroad stated: If there is a country
capable of being successful, it is Germany.
A consequence of the energy turnaround
might be that we will have to use more coal
and gas power plants. Doesn’t this harm
global climate targets?
Of course Germany’s climate policy will
need to be coherent and transparent
and stick to its own reduction targets. So
new coal power plants are not compatible with the Energiewende scenario.
Therefore, we have to focus on a rapid
implementation of using renewable
energies, on energy efficiency, and on
energy savings. If there is any gap, we
will have to take new gas power plants
into account, which are more climate
friendly than coal plants.
p. 30
Environmental groups call for a more
regional and decentralized energy generation. But the reality is complicated: We see
many residents and local stakeholders opposing renewable energy and new public
power lines when they are located in their
backyards. So how can we improve the
required multistakeholder dialogs?
As the long conflict over nuclear power
is now history, it is necessary to build up
new trust and confidence concerning
the planning and implementation of the
needed infrastructure for 100 percent
renewables by 2050. Early participation
and building up ownership for new small
and large energy grids and storage systems, for example, is absolutely crucial.
The “not in my backyard” behavior is
real everywhere in the world and we
should overcome it in an intelligent and
creative manner.
Clean technology has become a vital
industry. What role can and must German
industry play globally?
Germany is already a champion in
many environmental technologies, in
renewables, as well as with tools and
products for climate protection. There
are many additional opportunities ahead
for a highly industrialized country like
Germany. But Germany has more responsibilities than to its own economy.
There are many countries in the world
already suffering from the negative
effects of climate change. So what are
needed are money and assistance for
CSR Made in Germany
Climate Change
» So what are needed are
money and assistance for
adaptation and the new
Green Climate Fund, more
technology cooperation, and
more capacity-building in the
most vulnerable regions. «
Best Practices
Klaus Milke
Klaus Milke is Chairman
of the Board of the nongovernmental organization
Germanwatch.
Klaus Milke
adaptation and the new Green Climate
Fund, more technology cooperation,
and more capacity-building in the most
vulnerable regions.
mandatory approaches, the reform of
the OECD guidelines for multinational
corporations, and the new CSR Communication of the EU.
German government fosters sustainable development with various specialized
programs and a coherent CSR action plan.
What aspects should be improved from
your standpoint?
They provide cornerstones for a further
debate in Germany and a review of the
sufficiency of the existing CSR Strategy.
Human rights aspects and environmental
limits, for instance, make it necessary
for countries to look for clear answers
as to how they protect those aspect and
for companies as to how they respect
those aspects, in addition to providing
guidance for those who are affected as
to how they can receive remedies.
New guidelines on corporate accountability have been put forward this year
by the UN, OECD, and EU. Those include
the Guiding Principles of John Ruggie
with their smart mix of voluntary and
CSR Made in Germany
p. 31
Best Practices
Climate Change
Fraunhofer Institute:
Solutions for Sustainable Mobility
Transit and power generation make
a decisive contribution to global CO2
emissions. Even though existing alternative,
environmentally friendly technologies can
be optimized and others developed,
in many cases these are not yet marketable.
The Fraunhofer Institute is working on
these weak spots in order to promote
this research. As an example, German
researchers are developing innovative
approaches to sustainable mobility, energyefficient airplane systems, and wave-energy
harvesting.
The lighter the electric car, the less energy it needs to accelerate and the longer it can go between charges. Engineers from
the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology in Pfinztal,
Germany, are working on developing manufacturing concepts
to decrease the total weight of an electric car. These concepts
should allow individual elements of the vehicle to be replaced
gradually by lightweight components. The challenge of these
lightweight components is that they must ensure the stability
of the pieces and the safety of the passenger. The experts have
now developed such a prototype: an electric sports car called the
Artega GT, with its motor at the rear of the car. A battery housing
that surrounds the 340 kg battery and weighs only 35 kg was
developed to be able to withstand a crash in addition to being
suitable for mass production. Such cases were previously made
from steel components that weighed up to 25 percent more than
the new battery housing. It can survive an accident at over 10 times
ground acceleration, protecting the ultra-sensitive battery from
external impacts and moisture and allowing the battery cells to
“breathe” by means of a semi-permeable membrane to equalize
p. 32
pressure. All of this is possible because of the fiber-reinforced
composite material from which the housing is made. Until now,
this was only available to the airplane construction sector, but not
on the production scale that would be necessary for automobile
manufacturing. Because mass production presents special challenges for materials, the experts at the Fraunhofer Institute have
developed an appropriate process chain for it. Here, many steps
can take place at the same time, so that the individual components
can be fit together and molded in a one-shot process.
Energy-efficient airplane systems
The Fraunhofer Institute’s Clean Sky Project is an attempt
to create air travel that is sustainable and environmentally
conscious. Researchers with the project study the interplay
between thermal and electrical systems in airplanes. Their
goal is to make energy management on board more efficient by
investigating the thermal behavior of airplanes under extreme
differences in temperature, such as those that the machines
are exposed to when flying through distinct weather conditions and climates at various times. The means toward this
end is a piece of equipment, the thermal test bench, that is to
be integrated into the flight tests at the Fraunhofer Institute
for Building Physics. This allows them to simulate different
climates and to test the interplay between new electrical
systems and parts of the airplane under changing conditions.
It will illustrate such things as how the heat loss from lights
or electrical components acts on the environment within the
plane, or vice versa. This gives the researchers information on
how the systems should be arranged and how “waste heat” can
be meaningfully reduced or reused.
Ships as wave generators
The Fraunhofer Center for Manufacturing Innovation (CMI)
is also committed to reducing global warming, through its
research into harvesting energy from ocean waves. Here, the
experts are discovering areas with potential for improvement
that could decrease the cost of this type of power and make it
more attractive for the market, such as their development of a
CSR Made in Germany
Climate Change
concept to use ships as low-priced wave generators. These have
the advantage that they would obviate the need for undersea
cables to transport the power to land. The ships accumulate and
store the energy until they reach their next port. This change
alone decreases costs enormously, since the price of one kilometer
of undersea cable is over $500,000. Moreover, the departures
of these energy-generating ships can be planned so that they
return to port at peaks in consumption. This way, the power
can be fed into the grid only when it is really needed. There
would be no great investment necessary for infrastructure at
ports, since yachting ports would provide sufficient mooring.
CSR Made in Germany
Best Practices
Another advantage of these mobile ships is that when generating power, they can always head into regions where the seas
are good. In addition, they do not need to achieve the same
robustness as conventional wave-power generators: If there is
bad weather, they can simply head to the next port. The combination of these advantages leads to a significant decrease
in the costs to generate energy of this type. CMI researchers
calculate that one kilowatt hour under this concept will cost
$0.15. This is half the price of previous wave-power solutions.
At this price, the technology would also be competitive with
other energy sources, such as offshore wind power.
p. 33
Best Practices
Good Work
Good Work
“The global market economy has demonstrated great productive capacity. Wisely managed, it can
deliver unprecedented material progress, generate more productive and better jobs for all, and
contribute significantly to reducing world poverty. But we also see how far short we still are from
realizing this potential. The current process of globalization is generating unbalanced outcomes,
both between and within countries. These global imbalances are morally unacceptable and
politically unsustainable. We believe the dominant perspective on globalization must shift more
from a narrow preoccupation with markets to a broader preoccupation with people. Globalization
must be brought from the high pedestal of corporate boardrooms and cabinet meetings to meet
the needs of people in the communities in which they live. The social dimension of globalization is
about jobs, health, and education – but it goes far beyond these. It is the dimension of globalization
that people experience in their daily lives and work: the totality of their aspirations for democratic
participation and material prosperity. A better globalization is the key to a better and secure life for
people everywhere in the 21st century.”
International Labour Organisation (ILO), World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization: “A fair globalization: Creating opportunities for all”
p. 34
CSR Made in Germany
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Standard of living (GDP per capita – PPP* US$)
Standard of Living and Labor Productivity
in OECD countries
90,000
80,000
Luxembourg
70,000
60,000
Norway
50,000
Canada
40,000
Iceland
New Zealand
Czech Republic
Slovak Republic
Mexico
Turkey
30,000
20,000
10,000
United States
Finland
Germany
Ireland
Netherlands
Belgium
France
Spain
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Labor productivity (GDP per hour worked – PPP* US$)
*Purchasing power parity
Source: OECD, National Accounts of OECD Countries, Main Aggregates, Volumes 1 and 2, 2009.
CSR Made in Germany
p. 35
Best Practices
Good Work
Responsible Market Players
Benefit from Fair Work
As a society, we can only be strong if
we have strong economies. Without
competitive enterprises to serve as the
foundations of our prosperity, many
societal and social achievements would
sooner or later be jeopardized. We
should not forget that there are always
new challenges for the economy and
society, challenges that we must respond
to together – from climate change to
demographic developments and the
globalization of work. This calls for
responsible action that must originate in
each and every enterprise and cover its
entire value chain.
Responsible action by companies also includes treating their
own employees fairly, offering them prospects, and supporting them in their development. Policymakers must work
together with social partners to set the relevant framework:
• Germany and Europe must sustain their capabilities to meet
the challenges of the future and remain socially responsible.
• Everyone should be able to participate in society’s prosperity.
• The goal is to ensure that working conditions are safe and
healthy, that people are given work, and that they are offered help in utilizing opportunities.
• Not least, there is a commitment to strike a fair balance
between social interests, economic aspects, and ecological
issues.
Much has been settled by collective agreements in a sustainable
manner. In dialog with all stakeholders, comprehensive statutory
minimum standards for fair work are being developed. They
» We should not forget that there are always
new challenges for the economy and society,
challenges that we must respond to together
– from climate change to demographic
developments and the globalization of work. «
Gerd Hoofe
p. 36
CSR Made in Germany
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benefit the interests of employees but also provide protection
against competitive disadvantages and social dumping for the
great number of companies that are committed to fair work.
In addition to the need for legal solutions, there is also a requirement for voluntary measures. Our social system is based on
freedom and property and their being utilized in a responsible
manner. With fair work, companies that meet their responsibilities can benefit directly from economic success. They have
good arguments to persuade talented employees to remain
with them on a long-term basis. Customers, consumers, and
investors also pay close attention to conditions of production.
The demand for products and services produced under fair
conditions is continuously increasing, and investors are looking for new ways to minimize the social and ecological risks
that may be involved in their investments. To help implement
fair working conditions in companies, the New Quality of
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Best Practices
Work Initiative, which was founded by the Federal Ministry
of Labor and Social Affairs 10 years ago, is supporting the CSR
activities of the German government. The clear message in
connection to this is:
Corporate social responsibility is worth the effort! It safeguards
access to talent, customers, and capital.
Gerd Hoofe is State Secretary in the Federal Ministry
of Labour and Social Affairs.
p. 37
Best Practices
Good Work
Bosch – A Century of Socially
Conscious Employment
Great entrepreneurial personalities have shaped the German
economy. One of the most important of these is Robert Bosch.
Born in Albeck bei Ulm as the son of an innkeeper in 1861, Bosch
founded the Robert Bosch Group and became one of the most
influential men of his era. Today his company is active in over 60
countries, and through careful management, it has achieved a
yearly turnover of more than €47 billion. The success of Robert
Bosch GmbH and its more than 350 affiliated companies have
always rested on the corporate testament of the founder and
a clear faith in staff and locations.
As the 11th of 12 children, Robert Bosch finished at the Ulm secondary school in 1876 and worked as a mechanic’s apprentice
after finishing his studies. He used periods of work in the United
States and England to deepen his knowledge before opening
his Workshop for Fine Mechanics and Electro-Technology in
Stuttgart in 1886. After preliminary success with the Bosch
low-tension magneto ignition system, an invention from staff
member Gottlob Honold finally brought a breakthrough for
the company. Developed in 1902, the high-tension magneto
ignition for motor vehicles did not take long to become the
global standard. As a result, the business expanded into other
European countries and the United States. Aided by a strategy
based on social responsibility and respect for workers, the
budding corporate empire survived the great crises of the 20th
century and developed into the most important provider in the
world for the automotive and electrical industries.
Robert Bosch always believed that the well-being of the company was connected to the well-being of its workers. This also
meant that he guaranteed the greatest possible freedom to his
employees in executing their tasks, as he had done with Honold.
In addition, he paid his employees according to his own guiding
principle: “I don’t pay good wages because I have a lot of money;
I have a lot of money because I pay good wages.” In 1911, when the
average yearly wage for a worker was around 1,341 marks, Bosch
was already paying his employees an average of 2,000 marks.
In Germany his name is also closely associated with the introduction of pension and disability care and with limits on working
p. 38
hours. By instituting the eight-hour day in 1906, in honor of the
100,000th magneto ignition, Bosch could also make better use
of the machines through a two-shift operation. The company
founder’s mentality makes this impressively clear: “In the
long term, an honest and fair approach to doing business will
always be the most profitable.”
By 1921, Robert Bosch had founded the Bosch GmbH business
trust in order to carry on these policies in the event of his
death. The trust was meant to ensure the implementation of
his social and corporate principles after his eventual demise.
CSR Made in Germany
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Best Practices
» In the long term, an honest and fair approach
to doing business will always be the most
profitable. «
Robert Bosch
2009 alone on improving employee skills. Each employee
went to an average of two seminars during the year. Preparing
specialist and executive staff for the challenges of the future
in a targeted way is an important instrument. Bosch training
centers in Brazil, the United States, Germany, India, China,
and Japan also provide the basis of a group-wide system of
competence management.
Work-family life balance is also becoming more and more
important in industrialized countries. Bosch offers over 100
variations of flexible working hours, telecommuting, and help
with childcare in order to retain employees and offer them the
greatest possible freedom in designing their workday. This also
includes collaboration across locations with an independent
staffing agency that offers consulting and hiring of nannies,
in-home daycare, and au pairs, as well as a childcare exchange
forum on the Bosch Group intranet. Measures such as summer
camps for children of employees and childcare facilities operated
in tandem with neighboring firms round out the options offered.
Now known as the Robert Bosch Foundation, the foundation
continues to influence company policy and to safeguard its
founder’s sustainability standards.
A global player with global responsibility
Today Bosch employs some 270,000 people worldwide. Following company tradition, these workers are the most important
capital. This is why the Robert Bosch Group not only invests
in jobs and wages, but also operates a consistent continuing
education program. The firm spent around €200 million in
CSR Made in Germany
Another important pillar of company policy is the social environment, especially where production facilities are located.
In many regions, the Bosch Group is the largest employer and
contractor. The group supports economic development in
these regions through local fundraisers, such as the Nashik
Run in India, which raised approximately €100,000 that was
donated to finance educational facilities and basic medical
care for poor population groups. Along with the philanthropic
aspects already cultivated by Robert Bosch, the company’s future sustainability also plays an important role. But the Robert
Bosch Group needs healthy, skilled, long-term employees in
order to ensure sustainable success.
This is why they also motivate their own workers to get involved in volunteering. The company’s internal volunteering
program is an important tool for this, with Bosch Rexroth
trainees in Lohr (Germany) working for a week in facilities for
the disabled, for example. This increases the social competence
of employees, strengthens staff morale, and at the same time
is of use to society.
p. 39
Best Practices
Good Work
Deutsche Telekom: Pushing
Forward Female Careers
In Germany, the overwhelming majority of management
positions in business enterprises are still in the hands of men.
Deutsche Telekom has decided to introduce a binding women’s
quota for management positions. As the first major DAX-30
German company to do so, Deutsche Telekom introduced a
group-wide women’s quota for upper and middle management in order to increase its share of women to 30 percent by
the end of 2015. Telekom could contribute to the initiation of a
broad societal debate around the chances for women in management that has gathered momentum both in the political
and economic spheres.
tied to economic success. Europe’s largest telecommunications
company intends to leverage the creative potential of diverse
management teams, which have been widely proven to boost
economic performance and innovation. In addition, another
sweeping trend in Telekom’s business environment shall be
counteracted by the women’s quota: demographic change. In
Germany, talent scarcity is a challenge affecting all business
companies, including Deutsche Telekom. Ignoring the collective potential of an ever growing number of qualified female
university graduates would be negligence and companies
cannot afford to do so.
Given the 19 percent proportional representation of women
on executive floors worldwide when the quota was introduced
in early 2010, the 30 percent target is an ambitious mark that
needs the joint efforts of the whole enterprise in order to be
reached. For Deutsche Telekom, after a long period of lacking progress in the promotion of women, the introduction of
the women’s quota was the ultima ratio. The commitment to
increase the share of women at the management level was by
no means driven purely by motivations for justice.
Thus, with regard to its recruitment practices, Deutsche
Telekom is not only focusing on the top rungs of the executive
ladder but also filling its talent pipeline from the bottom. The
30 percent women’s quota applies to all steps in the talent pipeline – starting at the bottom with the recruitment of graduates
from universities and dual courses, continuing to the internal
talent pools and to all executive development programs, and
up to the short lists for nominees of top management functions.
Moreover, at least 30 percent of the participants of management training programs need to be women as a mandatory
prerequisite for starting these programs.
As Deutsche Telekom is a company in a highly dynamic and
innovation-driven business environment, raising the proportion
of women in management would be a positive step, as it is closely
p. 40
Paving the way for female managers also means addressing
the balance of work and private life. Hence, Deutsche Telekom
Group aims at shaping a diverse and open corporate culture to
replace the face-time culture currently manifest. The re-entry
after sabbaticals or parental leaves has been optimized, especially for women who take responsibility for both work and
family. At the same time, Telekom has massively expanded its
child care facilities in Germany and has started to offer regular
summer holiday care for employees with school children. With
the introduction of its Work-Life Policies, Deutsche Telekom
has committed to show respect toward the families and private lives of their employees and to allow for more flexibility
and sovereignty. The promotion of part-time options for all
employees, e-mail-free weekends, and maintaining contact
with female employees during parental leave shall become
deeply anchored in Telekom’s corporate culture.
CSR Made in Germany
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Best Practices
Globalization of
Social Responsibility
Globalization opens up new economic potential for exportdriven sectors of industry and business enterprises. Economic
success, however, cannot disregard the aspect of corporate
social responsibility.
Corporate social responsibility in this age of globalization
always has to be seen as an international responsibility. Participation in the UN Global Compact, the formation of trade
union corporate networks, and the conclusion of international
framework agreements by successful German companies all
show that corporate social responsibility is not tantamount to
competitive disadvantages. Milton Friedman’s dictum that “The
social responsibility of business is to increase its profits” is no
longer applicable: Especially after the financial and economic
crisis of 2008, ethical actions play an increasingly important
role in the public eye. Profit is no longer acceptable as the sole
benchmark in business, as this would be diametrically opposed
to the concept of sustainability.
For some years, many companies have therefore used the
expression “corporate social responsibility” (CSR) as the tag
for their social commitment. The IG BCE demands that this
term has to be more than just a marketing strategy. The trade
unions and work councils have to be involved in designing
corporate social responsibility and verifying its effects. Reference standards for the international responsibility of business enterprises have existed for years, the most important of
which include global standards, such as the UN Human Rights
Declaration, the ILO Labour Standards, and the OECD Guidelines
for Multinational Enterprises.
Corporate social responsibility activities are voluntary for
business enterprises – but voluntary must not be confused
with non-binding. In the opinion of the German trade unions,
corporate social responsibility can be seen only as a supplement
to minimum legal standards such as employee representation,
co-determination, and collective bargaining.
Accordingly, companies have to ensure that their corporate
social responsibility activities are transparent, and it would be
CSR Made in Germany
Michael Vassiliadis
Michael Vassiliadis is President
of Industriegewerkschaft
Bergbau, Chemie, Energie
(Mining, Chemical and Energy
Industrial Union).
advisable to have this topic investigated by the legally prescribed
economic committees and supervisory boards together with
the employee representatives. Sustainability reports that are
drawn up on the basis of international standards can also create
the necessary transparency for the general public.
The IG BCE believes that the only plausible corporate social responsibility concept is one that is based on the principle of social
partners. At the association level, the IG BCE and the Federal
Chemical Employers Association (BAVC) have implemented
this ideal in the Wittenberg Process, the results of which led,
among other things, to their joint code of ethics for responsible
actions in a social market economy.
There are already many positive examples from business
practice, such as the BASF South American Network, which
has succeeded over the years in eliminating problems at the
South American locations in dialog between the social partners. This example stands for a great ideal – the globalization
of corporate social responsibility. Then, and only then, can
global justice become a reality.
p. 41
Best Practices
Good Work
Volkswagen: Production Sites
As Examples of CSR
Long before corporate social responsibility became a popular
topic for discussion, Volkswagen was already developing a corporate culture of sustainability and codetermination. This has
included equal emphasis being placed on pursuing economic
goals and securing jobs. For Volkswagen, corporate social responsibility is about having the ability to harmonize its own
business goals with the long-term goals of society. The three
core elements of the concept for sustainability are:
• sustainable products, that is, the forced improvement of
conventional propulsion technology; innovative vehicle
concepts; BlueMotion Technologies and EcoFuel; hybrid
models and electric mobility; as well as mobility services as
contributions toward a goal of CO2-neutral mobility;
• sustainable production, that is, energy and resources management, the use of renewable energy sources, logistics, and
green information technology; and
• sustainable structural development, that is, the networking of
production sites with local economic and social development
that works toward their own interests and takes responsibility
for their own actions.
In this third pillar of sustainability, involvement in overcoming
social problems meets the company’s vested interest in having
qualified and motivated employees, in offering preventative
healthcare, and in fostering the environment necessary for its
long-term development.
At the Group’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, Volkswagen has
demonstrated how the economic strength of a region can be
enhanced and structural weaknesses can be overcome. The
joint venture company founded with the city of Wolfsburg,
Wolfsburg AG, has created a total of 13,500 jobs since 1999 and
initiated more than 640 start-ups and relocations. Together
with the development agency project Region Braunschweig –
in which Volkswagen is also a partner – Volkswagen is creating
a model for the future in the form of a regional alliance called
“Allianz für die Region” (Alliance for the Region). Following this
p. 42
example, Volkswagen has also founded public-private partnership companies that create economic stimuli and employment
through industrial settlement and start-up aid programs.
To enhance the innovative capabilities of the company as well
as the production sites, the company seeks joint ventures with
scientific and research institutions. In Ingolstadt and Munich,
an especially close network of cooperative relationships has
developed between the Group brand Audi and the technical
universities. It is dedicated to the development of future technologies – from automobile construction to urban development.
In places where Volkswagen has been producing for many decades, close relationships have also developed with civil society
CSR Made in Germany
Good Work
organizations, and networks for helping others to help themselves
have been created. The company has established corporate
foundations dedicated to this purpose in Brazil and South Africa.
Volkswagen of South America has created more than 5,000
jobs in the structurally weak Eastern Cape Province and indirectly created more than 20,000 jobs at the supplier end,
thus generating income. It is also involved in the Volkswagen
Community Trust in the struggle against AIDS, in the construction of schools, in literacy campaigns, and in the promotion of
soccer and other sports. Every investment is a commitment to
the region and the people who live there.
The company’s involvement is supported by its employees in its
own “culture of helping.” Every year, the workforce’s contributions benefit numerous nonprofit organizations and initiatives
concerned with social projects in the surrounding region.
Since the turn of the millennium, the workforce has been
supporting street children throughout the world through
the International Group Works Council by providing homes,
food, and education. The project “An Hour for the Future” is
implemented together with the renowned children’s aid organization Terre des Hommes. The workforce representation
sent a special message of hope during the 2010 soccer World
Cup in South Africa with its initiative “A Chance to Play.”
CSR Made in Germany
Best Practices
At German production sites, the Volkswagen initiative “Pro
Ehrenamt” – an agency for voluntary work – promotes the
willingness of employees and former employees to become
civically involved in local social and ecological projects. In
Cordoba, Argentina, Volkswagen employees formed their
own initiative to provide help in the slums in their spare time.
Volkswagen production sites also enhance their reputation
through active nature conservation. In this way, while generally
working in close cooperation with environmental organizations, the company has worked for the restoration of moors
and waters (in Germany), reforestation (in Spain, the United
States, and Brazil), and the protection of endangered species
like the panda (in China) and the Andean condor (in Brazil).
Not far from the Puebla plant, Volkswagen de Mexico is also
organizing an ecological project – the large-scale reforestation
of the volcanic massif around Popocatepetl – in which suppliers
will also join step-by-step. The objective is to stop soil erosion
and to improve the regional water supply to the advantage of
both the inhabitants and the factory.
More than 60 production sites throughout the world belong
to the Volkswagen Group. At all of the sites, the company takes
care of its surroundings in coordination with those who are locally involved and orients its actions to the needs of the region.
p. 43
Best Practices
Global Standards
Global Standards
“The present globalization of the economy and society is accompanied by the twofold problem of
institutional and organizational deficits. In contrast to international standards – which are decided
on by individual states or intergovernmental organizations, and subsequently enforced throughout
the world – the design and establishment of global standards and rules is still at the very beginning
of the development process. This is due to a lack of internationally recognized and motivated
organizations capable of promoting such a development process for globally accepted norms to
regulate fair individual and organizational rules for behavior. The UN Global Compact and the ISO
26000 norm can be mentioned here as exemplary and valuable exceptions. Furthermore, new
stakeholders need to be included in the process of developing norms, and new methods have to
be created to generate norms in order for behavioral standards to be accepted by societal actors
as legitimate norms throughout the world. Multistakeholder dialogs are an example of this kind of
method.”
United Nations Global Compact International Yearbook 2011
p. 44
CSR Made in Germany
Global Standards
Best Practices
Leading players in merchandise trade 2010
Imports (US$ billion)
2,300
United States
1,900
1,500
China
1,100
Germany
Japan
700
France
Netherlands
300
-100
-20
480
980
1,480
1,980
Exports (US$ billion)
Source: World Trade Organization – International Trade Statistics 2011
CSR Made in Germany
p. 45
Best Practices
Global Standards
Responsible Entrepreneurship
in a Global Context
The core labor standards of the International
Labour Organization, the UN Global
Compact, and the OECD Guidelines for
Multinational Enterprises provide a major
contribution toward global corporate social
responsibility. They are the most important
recognized instruments and initiatives
developed at the governmental level.
p. 46
The OECD Guidelines are recommendations from 42 states for
companies active in an international context. The Guidelines
urge virtuous behavior in a variety of relevant areas, such as
human rights, environmental protection, combating corruption, and rights of workers.
Based on the number of participating countries, the Guidelines
cover a significant portion of the world’s total foreign investments. Implementation is supported by the possibility of an
appeal process through National Contact Points, which are
composed by the governments of participating states.
CSR Made in Germany
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Best Practices
» The Guidelines encourage
companies to responsibly
consider the various aspects of
their business environments,
while recognizing the limits of
their control. «
Hans-Joachim Otto
The OECD Guidelines were drafted in 1976 and extensively revised in 2000. From June 2010 to May 2011, there was a further
review of the Guidelines to incorporate developments and
trends of recent years.
The revised Guidelines were adopted by participating governments on May 25, 2011 – the 50th anniversary of the founding
of the OECD. On September 30, 2011, the official version of the
revised Guidelines was published in English, French, and German.
During the review of the Guidelines, a new chapter devoted
entirely to the protection of human rights was added. Moreover,
the Guidelines were expanded to include not just investments,
but also supply chains and other business relationships, and
a duty of due diligence was introduced as a benchmark for
entrepreneurial behavior in almost all areas.
The Guidelines encourage companies to responsibly consider
the various aspects of their business environments, while
recognizing the limits of their control. Because of these and
other innovations of the OECD Guidelines, I see the revisions
of last year – based on a broad consensus of governments,
business, trade unions, and nongovernmental organizations – as a major achievement for international CSR. They
ensure the future effectiveness and leadership of the OECD
Guidelines.
CSR Made in Germany
The updated version of the OECD Guidelines thus underlines
the continuing relevance in the 21st century of the “honorable
merchant.” Just like nearly a thousand years ago, a respectable
businessman can successfully master the challenges of voluntarily accepted guidelines, and in doing so effectively and
enduringly take advantage of unique opportunities.
The validity of the principle is, so to say, independent of the
times. Building on this tradition even today, the German
economy will continue to lead in the area of ​​good corporate
governance – according to Robert Bosch’s motto: “The fairest
way of doing business is also the most consistent.”
Hans-Joachim Otto is Parliamentary State Secretary
in the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.
p. 47
Best Practices
Global Standards
Cotton Made in Africa – Helping
People to Help Themselves
The Aid by Trade Foundation was initiated by Dr. Michael Otto
(see page 62) in 2005. “Cotton made in Africa” (CmiA) is the
foundation’s central initiative, and so far it is the only one. The
CmiA initiative is supported and funded by private sector and
public organizations. They include NGOs such as Welthungerhilfe, WWF, NABU (Naturschutzbund Deutschland e.V.), the Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation as well as public sector organizations such as the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and
Development in addition to private companies in the fashion,
textile, and cotton sectors.
p. 48
“Cotton made in Africa” works on the principles of a socially
responsible business. That means the initiative operates in accordance with sound business methods, except that it does not
aim to maximize the profits of individuals, but rather to improve
the living conditions of a large number of African smallholder
cotton farmers. In order to do that, it is building an alliance of
international retail companies that have targeted demand in the
global market for sustainably produced cotton and will use this
raw material in their products. CmiA acts in accordance with the
rules of the market, avoiding subsidies or interventions in the
CSR Made in Germany
Global Standards
Best Practices
system of world market prices, which are determined by supply
and demand, as are the prices of practically all raw materials.
Training programs are conducted to teach small cotton farmers modern, efficient growing methods and environmentally
sound uses of pesticides based on the principle of damage
thresholds. That means certain pesticides are not used until
a certain degree of pest damage has occurred. That degree is
determined after a systematic search of the fields for pests. A
simple and easy-to-use tool has been developed for this purpose.
It not only reduces the use of pesticides, but also teaches the
farmers to distinguish pests from useful insects and how to use
this information for growing. Other key contents of the training are the efficient use of rainwater and moderate, careful use
of fertilizers, in particular the production and use of organic
fertilizers. This knowledge helps the farmers to improve the
quality of their cotton, to keep the soil fertile, and to obtain
greater crop yields. Depending on the region, the organization of the training programs is managed by the Deutsche
Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) or by
the cotton companies on location, as they have a key interest
themselves to increase the productivity of the smallholder
farmers who supply to them.
In Europe and North America, CmiA has created the Demand
Alliance – an alliance of international clothing companies and
fashion brands that specifically source the sustainable African
cotton for their global textile manufacturing and retailing. CmiA
is currently working with more than 20 textile companies – one
of which being the global sportswear company PUMA, which
joined the CmiA initiative in 2009. With a strong presence on
the African continent and a large assortment of cotton textiles,
it is obvious why PUMA belongs to the largest customers of
CmiA cotton in 2011.
In return for the right to use the CmiA label on their products,
the members of the Demand Alliance pay a licensing fees to
the foundation. Revenues from this fee are passed on in accordance with the principles of a socially responsible business to the
partners who have made the label possible by means of their
CSR Made in Germany
African cotton is almost exclusively grown by smallholder
farmers, using sustainable growing methods.
work, that is, the smallholder farmers in Africa. This holistic
approach provides a win-win situation for everyone involved:
the partners of the Demand Alliance receive cotton produced
in accordance with social and ecological standards, without
paying a significantly higher price for it; the African smallholder
farmers and their families receive several advantages – they
learn more-efficient growing methods so that they can improve
their income through better yields, and they benefit from social
projects such as improvement of schools. The planned future
distribution of surpluses shall further improve the income of
the cotton growers.
The most important roles for the initiative are to provide stimulus and to act as a mediator. The initiative shows where there is
the need and opportunity for support and brings together all
partners involved in order to ensure the best possible realization of joint projects. In practice, these are the “Cotton made
in Africa” community projects, which aim at improving the
social / educational infrastructure within a project region, for
example by establishing literacy programs for adults or by
renovating and building primary schools in remote cotton
areas. Those projects are the results of the joint approaches of
cotton companies, farmer organizations, and European textile
companies, all of which are connected through the “Cotton
made in Africa” initiative.
p. 49
Best Practices
Global Standards
The German Round Table
Codes of Conduct
Initiated and launched in 2001, the Round
Table Codes of Conduct is a multistakeholder
forum chaired by the German Federal
Ministry for Economic Cooperation
and Development (BMZ). Consisting of
representatives from the private sector, trade
unions, nongovernmental organizations,
and government institutions, it provides
a platform for open and constructive
dialog on issues that are currently the
subject of international debate, such as
public procurement policies, business
and human rights, the establishment and
implementation of sustainability standards
in different sectors, and the development
of the “ISO 26000: 2010, Guidance on social
responsibility.”
Joint learning through pilot projects
The Round Table was initiated for participants to discuss different
experiences and learn from one another. For this purpose, pilot
projects are implemented jointly to better understand and demonstrate how social standards can be implemented throughout
the international supply chain. The topics addressed by the Round
Table in its pilot projects are always innovative, deal with the
major issues of the day, and contribute to a new understanding
regarding the implementation of social standards internationally.
At the time when the Round Table was initiated 10 years ago,
pressure from trade unions, NGOs, and consumer groups had
grown and companies were starting to design Codes of Conduct
p. 50
for their global supply chains. A number of voluntary standards
systems (VSS) had been developed for the purpose of promoting better social conditions in international supply chains and
manufacturing processes. Auditing schemes and certification
procedures had been introduced, sometimes resulting in very
demanding processes for the supplier companies. However,
best practices and lessons learned were very rarely exchanged
among the parties concerned.
Since then, the approaches and strategies for implementing social standards more successfully and sustainably have
been adapted over the years, taking account of experiences
and lessons learned. There has been a move from improving
audit processes and certification at the outset toward improving implementation through dialog and training as well as
promoting integrated approaches to standards in corporate
management strategies.
The approach of initiating a dialog between management
and workforce developed as a concept at the Round Table. It
was implemented between 2004 and 2006 in Romania and
Bulgaria, reaching more than 10,000 employees and setting
new trends. By focusing on tools to enhance the dialog between
management and workforce, social dialog has been shown to
be a suitable and effective instrument for improving company
processes and performance. In-house conflicts may not disappear completely by applying the dialog approach, but can be
resolved more constructively. Generally, democratic involvement leads to more ownership on the part of the workers, which
can have positive impacts in terms of higher productivity and
economic benefits. The approach has been used – adapted to
the situation at hand – in subsequent and current projects and
in cooperation with the private sector.
Dialog with partner institutions from developing countries
The Round Table has always emphasized the importance of
dialog with partner institutions from the South for joint learning and successful implementation of social standards. In
December 2009 the Round Table members organized a Round
CSR Made in Germany
Global Standards
Table Expert Exchange – titled “Social Standards: learnings,
opportunities and challenges from northern and southern
perspectives” – for an exchange of views and experiences
regarding the implementation of social standards and CSR
activities with partner institutions from the South.
The Round Table took up the revival of international interest in
“living wages” in its program of 2010/2011 in order to develop
a joint action program. In the beginning of 2012, the Round
Table will hold a dialog event with experts, partner institutions
from the South, and various multistakeholder initiatives to
elaborate the topic further, to exchange experiences, and to
identify approaches and good practices, which can then be
taken up by the members.
CSR Made in Germany
Best Practices
Framework of conventions and initiatives
The Round Table follows the frameworks of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the international human rights
accords and conventions, the International Labour Organisation’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights
at Work, and the United Nations Global Compact initiative.
The Codes of Conduct – or guidelines for companies – as put
forward by the Foreign Trade Association of German Retailers (AVE), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development, the Ethical Trading Initiative in the United
Kingdom, and the International Confederation of Free Trade
Unions provide important orientation for the work of the
Round Table.
p. 51
Best Practices
Global Standards
TÜV Rheinland: FIT5 – Factory
Improvement Training in China
To increase production and at the same time be a socially responsible employer is challenging. Examples in the sportswear and
textile industries are particularly well known. Being the supplier
to protected trademarks that are sold all over the world often
means adopting the standards of the brand owner. The goals of
the FIT5 (Factory Improvement Training) program are to enable
the suppliers to have a say in the process and to decide which
standards are important to them. The key to success is to transfer responsibility and ownership, thereby making it a desired
change that comes from within rather than through the request
of clients or buyers. TÜV Rheinland Group in Shenzhen and CSR
Asia – in collaboration with the German non-profit capacitybuilding organization Inwent gGmbH (part of the Deutsche
Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
since January 1, 2011) – have developed a multi-supplier training
program linking productivity, quality management, CSR, and
essential basic rights with respect to selected International Labour Organisation standards, Chinese labor law, and workplace
conditions. Factory owners learn how to appraise the factory’s
performance and how to build capacity to establish systems
for continuous improvement of the management system. FIT5
seeks not only to remedy shortcomings, but also to introduce
behavior that will be long-lasting and create sustainable change.
The implementation of the program usually lasts six months,
during which time experts accompany the factory’s man-
Continuous and sustainable improvement
(Figure 1)
Communication
Social Accountability
• complaints/grievance procedure
• between workers and management
• with brands
•COC awareness
•wages & working hours
•employment relationship
•child labor & forced labor
•harassment & abuse
•discrimination
•social insurance
•social management system
Human Resource Management
• new staff mentoring
• training systems
• performance systems
Occupational Health and Safety
Lean Manufacturing
• production lead time
• labor efficiency
• production output per hour
p. 52
• quality yield and
rework percentage
• multi skill levels
• OHS awareness
• OHS management
• fire, safety and emergency
• chemical storage & management
• sanitation maintenance
•PPE
• machine safety
CSR Made in Germany
Global Standards
Best Practices
Corruption in
Organizations
agement and staff to help improve processes in various
areas. Instead of rushing to comply with corporate social
responsibility, the program establishes a process of continuous and sustainable improvement. Five integrated modules
consisting of communication, human resource (HR) management, lean manufacturing, occupational health and safety
(OHS), and social accountability are the core of the program
(see Figure 1).
As a consequence, a lot of the bottleneck problems, such as
excessive work hours and enormous waste production, could
be solved at the end of the process. The continuous assessment
and sustainable improvement during the program has led to
many achievements in the monitored factories, such as higher
production efficiency, reduction of waste, lowered costs, retainment of engaged employees, and risk reduction. As a result,
factory management searches for solutions by getting to the
root of a problem. Subsequently, improving the performance
of corporate social responsibility has become the major goal.
Thus it enhances sustainable development through continuous improvement of the internal management.
More than 30 factories from various industries all over China
have successfully completed the FIT5 project introduced in
March 2006. Because of its sustainable success, the system
has been expanded into FIT5 GREEN – like FIT5, it is based on
five modules, but with a clear focus on environmental issues:
sustainability strategy, managed energy, execution capacity,
green production, and carbon management.
A factory HR manager was able to summarize what makes both
programs so innovative and sustainable: “FIT5 turned out to
be most inspiring, revealing, and enlightening. We are not
told what to do, but are shown what we can do, and for what
reason. We are guided to look at our own problems in a whole
new different way and approach. It does not tell us what to do
in order to comply with our clients’ codes. Instead, it shows
us the way how to better equip ourselves so that compliances
come as a natural by-product rather than a deliberate effort
to obey. It is proactive, not reactive.”
CSR Made in Germany
Corruption in business has become topical as never before. Over the past years, many spectacular corruption
cases involving companies have been reported in the
media. Thus, the question arises: Why do individuals
in companies act corruptly? To answer this question,
scientists from the University of Bayreuth conducted an
empirical study using a business game that simulates
a cut-out of the real business world, with participants
slipping into the roles of decision-makers in companies.
Participants were faced with the temptation to bribe
others or to accept bribes offered by others under different conditions. Although one would expect that
people are more prone to act corruptly in cases where
they strongly desire and intend to achieve a certain
private goal (e.g., personal financial gain) or a certain
organizational goal (e.g., a business contract for the
company), the results show that this is not the case.
Situations in which people have a strong motivation to
achieve certain goals do not automatically translate into
people acting corruptly. Rather, when people are offered
the opportunity of corruption, three factors determine
whether they decide to give in to the temptation or not:
• The actor’s attitude toward corruption: How does
the actor judge corrupt behavior?
• The norms of relevant others regarding corruption:
How is corruption judged in the actor’s environment
and by the important people (e.g., colleagues, supervisors, family) in his or her life?
• The control the actor believes to have over corrupt
behavior: How does the actor judge the probability
of successfully conducting the corrupt action with
low risk?
Moreover, business codes that do not explicitly state
the non-tolerance of corruption may also contribute
to a higher temptation to act corruptly. If an organization simply demands integrity in general from its
employees, the deterrent effect is weak.
p. 53
Best Practices
Sustainable Consumption
Sustainable Consumption
“The WBCSD’s Vision 2050 report, and the Sustainable Consumption Facts and Trends report
that preceded it, both stated that technological innovation will not be enough to address the
sustainability challenge; there will also be a need for transformations in mainstream lifestyles and
consumption patterns. Surveys have shown for many years that people are increasingly concerned
by environmental and social issues, and want to make better and more sustainable choices; but
relatively few of them translate this willingness into behavior.
Consumers rely on businesses to provide goods that have been made in a more sustainable way.
They also look to businesses for help and guidance on which products and services to choose,
how to use them efficiently, and how to ensure that they are reused or recycled. Politicians set
the framework conditions for trade; business has a clear role to play in advising them wisely and
encouraging customers and staff to vote for change. This is a tough challenge that will require the
business community to work in partnership with each other, with consumers, and with other key
stakeholders.”
World Business Council for Sustainable Development: “A vision for sustainable consumption”
p. 54
CSR Made in Germany
Sustainable Consumption
Best Practices
Structure of exported goods
Exports by top 10 product groups in absolute numbers and percentage worldwide
Exported value in 2008
/ 2010
in US Dollar thousand
2,839,263,722
2,309,488,431
Mineral fuels, oils, distillation products, etc.
1,917,724,685
1,972,203,427
Electrical, electronic equipment
1,947,738,456
1,802,004,156
Machinery, boilers, etc.
1,239,668,462
1,084,195,856
Vehicles other than railway, tramway
Plastics and articles thereof
Optical, photo, technical, medical, apparatus etc.
Pharmaceutical products
Pearls, precious stones, metals, coins, etc.
Iron and steel
Organic chemicals
479,484,234
483,292,597
439,516,928
476,494,103
353,854,171
415,981,574
2.8
7.5
12.5
0.8
7.8
14.9
520,213,692
368,295,153
372,932,924
18.6
10.0
399,719,014
444,130,168
387,381,295
Trend in %
25.5
1.2
Source: ITC 2011 based on United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database
CSR Made in Germany
p. 55
Best Practices
Sustainable Consumption
CSR and Consumers –
A New Culture of Interaction
In a social market economy, production and
consumption go hand-in-hand with one
another. Companies and consumers are on
an equal footing. But however important
economic prosperity and the production
and sale of goods are, it takes more than
that to live well. To live well, it is absolutely
necessary to assume responsibility on the
market. Carrying out voluntary work for
others and having an ethical commitment to
the world and the environment supplement
purely economic activities. In Germany this
commitment has a long tradition.
With the corporate social responsibility (CSR) approach, companies voluntarily assume new responsibility and become
actively involved in their business area to contribute to solving economic, environmental, and social problems. This also
improves the company’s standing and reputation.
But consumers, too, are increasingly showing “consumer
social responsibility” for their consumer behavior and for
the conditions under which goods and services are produced
and provided. Consumers are much better informed than
they used to be and are increasingly taking up the challenge
of acting as economic citizens and going beyond pure consumption, using the companies’ CSR commitments in the
different spheres of public life to assess them positively or
to criticize them accordingly. This can definitely influence
purchasing decisions.
Nowadays, committed consumers want to know whether
companies offer adequate labor conditions and wages at
production sites both here and overseas or whether they are
indifferent about these issues. They want to know whether
coffee, tea, cocoa, bananas, flowers, and other products are
produced under environmentally and socially acceptable
conditions and whether they are Fairtrade products. And
they want to know whether companies are taking any action
to solve social problems in their own countries, for instance
by helping improve the work-family balance, providing better training conditions, facilitating integration, enhancing
the range of cultural activities at the local level, improving
health and encouraging healthy eating. There is consequently
an increasing “moralization of the markets” and “strategic
consumption” is becoming increasingly popular. This constitutes the first signs of a move in society toward a culture
of sustainability, whereby consumers reward the efforts
of companies to meet environmental, animal welfare, and
social requirements.
Consumers in Germany are being supported in their efforts
on the one hand by the federal government, consumer advice
centers, and civil society organizations, and on the other by
p. 56
CSR Made in Germany
Sustainable Consumption
Best Practices
» There is consequently an
increasing “moralization of
the markets” and “strategic
consumption” is becoming
increasingly popular. «
Dr. Robert Kloos
rapid technological developments. In addition to the traditional media, such as newspapers and television, consumers
are now also benefiting from comprehensive Internet websites
and, lately, from smartphone apps.
Even if the reasons behind the purchasing behavior are complex,
sufficient information and comprehensive consumer education constitute the essential basis for the “mature consumer,”
which is the guiding principle of our social market economy.
Inspired by the CSR process at the European Union level, and
based on the National CSR Strategy of the German Federal
Government, the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and
Consumer Protection has initiated projects that contribute
to providing consumers with clearer information and more
intensive education in this area.
In addition to general CSR information brochures, this mostly
comprises special projects that bring together theory and
practice. For instance, the ministry cooperated with education
providers to develop CSR teaching units. They have proved
very popular, because education has a particularly strong
impact if it is used at an early stage. These media packages
are called MitVerantwortung (co-responsibility) and include
didactic texts, worksheets, interactive presentations, overhead
transparencies, CSR videos, and an Internet-based CSR database with resource materials for teachers and young adults /
pupils in different school years and types. This comprehensive,
multi-unit CSR education project on consumer information
won the Comenius EduMedia Award and also an award from
the German UNESCO Commission: the CSR MitVerantwortung
project is consequently an official project of the UN Decade
of Education for Sustainable Development.
CSR Made in Germany
Another of the ministry’s CSR projects investigates the establishment and scope of new information channels between
companies and consumers. Companies are now beginning
to address consumers directly via CSR and supply them
with information so that they can assume more individual
responsibility in their consumer behavior. This new CSR
communication is reflected in the energy-saving portals
of energy utilities or in commercials by car manufacturers
that include information on environmentally sound driving.
This consumer communication is particularly instrumental
in strengthening the credibility and visibility of CSR in the
public perception.
Against the backdrop of the European and national CSR
strategies, the ministry has set itself the goal of supporting
consumer-oriented CSR communication and other contributions
to corporate social responsibility and consumer responsibility. The new culture of interaction between companies and
consumers in voluntarily taking on new responsibility helps
to improve social integration and economic innovation and,
consequently, the quality of life for everyone.
Dr. Robert Kloos is Permanent State Secretary at the
Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer
Protection.
p. 57
Best Practices
Sustainable Consumption
Improving Efficiency
Through Competition
For decades, German household appliance
manufacturers have been synonymous with
innovation, long life, and natural quality.
But another positive attribute has caught
on among consumers in recent years:
efficiency. In view of climate change and
the rising prices for resources such as water
and oil, energy and resource consumption
is becoming a selling point more and more
often. The more households that decide
to opt for high-efficiency appliances, the
greater the effect on the climate and the
environment. German manufacturers
are therefore relying on the international
nature of the consideration for efficiency. In
this way, as market leaders in the premium
sector, they create opportunities for
companies, the environment, and society.
Refrigerators, washing machines, and other appliances have
become an indispensable daily help – households have an
average of four large electronic appliances. Altogether, they
are responsible for about one-third of the electricity used by
residential customers in Germany, and one-quarter of the
water consumption. In order to make a positive contribution
to protecting the climate, more and more people are depending on careful, efficient use of energy and water. The changes
do not mean that consumers will do without, but simply that
they will swap their appliances for solutions and models that
respect natural resources.
Consumer, corporate, and social interests coalesce on precisely
this topic: energy. Less use of electricity means a reduction in
energy costs, and with it a decrease in CO2 emissions. With their
high-efficiency appliances, German firms are playing a leading
role worldwide. By 2010, the efficiency categories introduced
by the European Union in 1994 and their expansion into A+ and
A++ distinctions in 2003 were no longer sufficient to distinguish
between machines. The EU therefore expanded the labels again
in 2011 to include an A+++ class. Appliances with this label use
a total of 60 percent less energy than the best brand from 1994.
The issue of water has also gained increasing importance in
recent years. In 2010, the UN declared water to be a human
right. Even so, experts estimate that there are approximately
one billion people who have insufficient or no access to safe
drinking water. Four thousand children die every day as a
result. At the same time, nowhere else in the world do people
consume more water than in the developed countries of the
northern hemisphere.
What all German manufacturers have in common in addition
to this is their careful consideration for resources in their production practices and the long life of their appliances. When
calculating ecological footprints over the entire lifetime of an
appliance, no other companies can match the small footprint
of machines made in Germany. Innovation, long life, quality,
and efficiency are the foundation of the success that German
products have enjoyed on the market.
p. 58
CSR Made in Germany
Sustainable Consumption
Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances Group
When it comes to water, Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances
Group (BSH) is banking on its newly developed i-DOS technology. This method promises savings of more than 7,000 liters of
water per year. The technology has been integrated into many
of the firm’s appliances since 2010, and analyzes wash loads
before the wash cycle by their size, soil level, and quality in
order to determine the exact amount of water necessary. The
company is also making inroads on energy efficiency. BSH is
approximating natural drying methods by using Zeolite in its
dishwashers – mineral pellets that can absorb moisture and
emit heat energy in the process. BSH was awarded the Utopia
Award for this technology in 2010.
Miele
Large amounts of naturally occurring raw materials are needed
to produce so-called white goods. In addition, both production
and assembly processes create emissions and contaminate water. The average lifespan of a washing machine of eight to ten
years leads to a permanent loss of resources. Miele believes in
CSR Made in Germany
Best Practices
quality: The company used 101,893 tons of raw material in the
2009/2010 fiscal year – 93 percent of it being metal. The high
percentage of high-quality materials used in production is also
a guarantee of an especially long lifespan of its appliances.
Results from a test by the wfk Cleaning Technology Institute
showed Miele washing machines performing for up to 20 years.
In addition, an environmental management system integrated
into all production locations ensures the responsible handling
of the resources used.
Liebherr, Siemens, and Bosch
Longer program times, better insulation, and more effective
refrigerants in refrigerators, washing machines, and other appliances have developed into vital elements of every German
appliance manufacturer’s strategy for innovation. By now, most
of the machines at each of these companies boast an energy
efficiency rating of A++ or A+++. The “ProfiLine” machines
from the Liebherr company are just one example of how small
changes can often have a great effect in this area: They use
an innovative LED concept that saves up to 30 percent more
energy than traditional models with neon or fluorescent tubes.
p. 59
Best Practices
Sustainable Consumption
The Sustainable
Shopping Basket
Day after day we make decisions that have an influence on
whether the climate is protected, if limited resources are
preserved, or if human rights are respected. It starts with the
breakfast egg in the morning, continues with the choice of the
means of transport for the way to work, and does not end in
flipping through a catalog looking for the new fridge, which
should be taken into consideration. Consumers have power,
and with their consumption and lifestyle habits they can influence the range of products and services or even the business
practices in entire industrial sectors.
Consumption is not only wastage. Consumption patterns will
become sustainable as soon as one-way thinking is eliminated
– by individuals, but also by retailers and production facilities.
Consuming and producing sustainably still requires a high
degree of initiative: looking for reliable information, spending
more money for socially responsible manufactured products,
more reflection by the producers and service providers.
Already today sustainable consumption is possible. A sustainable lifestyle encompasses purchasing the right products as
well as different types of consumption and conscious nonconsumption. Such a lifestyle can save time, money, and make
worthier goods affordable.
Up to now the issues of sustainable consumption and CSR have
mostly been viewed separately. The aim of the “Sustainable
Shopping Basket” is to counteract this. This guide for better
shopping asks various questions about the most important
thing: getting started. Anyone can take the first steps toward
a more sustainable lifestyle. The Sustainable Shopping Basket
lists signs and labels for socially and/or ecologically responsible
goods in which consumers can trust – provided by stakeholders
or proven in external audits.
The Sustainable Shopping Basket overcomes difficult decisions
with simple rules. Buying regional, seasonal products is one
of those rules. Five servings of fruit and vegetables is another,
which leads to a climate-friendly and healthy lifestyle. You do
not always have to discuss all aspects of farming, globalized
p. 60
supply chains, or transportation. Sometimes good judgment
can help a lot, too.
Good food and nutrition are part of a good life and acting upon
this can make a special contribution to society’s well-being. It
would be unfortunate if sustainable consumption were solely
something for well-off people. It is important that modern
lifestyles and sustainable consumption can be combined.
Therefore, the German Council for Sustainable Development
is making a contribution with its framework that encourages
competition between companies for the best sustainability
solutions and a sustainable economy in general. If companies
introduce strategic sustainability approaches into their core
business, choices for sustainability will be an integral part of
any daily decisions.
Sustainable lifestyles will not become a mainstream trend
automatically. It is necessary to promote sustainable consumption as a topic in schools and as part of occupational training
for commerce and in the service sector. And it is indispensable
that politicians themselves set a good example and gear both
services and public procurement to sustainability criteria.
CSR Made in Germany
Sustainable Consumption
Best Practices
Bionade – For the Region
and the Environment
Bionade is the globally unique, non-alcoholic refreshment drink that is produced
organically through a fermentation
process using natural raw materials. All
agricultural ingredients are derived from
raw materials that are certified organic.
All the malting barley, elderberry, and
mint are grown in the region according
to the criteria of the German associations
for organic cultivation. “We produce
Bionade with a huge amount of commitment and the claim that 100 percent
of our ingredients come from organic
cultivation. This attitude matches our
idea of how to deal with nature as brewers and is the foundation of our product,”
says Peter Kowalsky, Managing Partner
of Bionade GmbH.
The brand is on its way to becoming
international and has been launched successfully in the urban centers of Austria,
France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, as well as selected metropolises
in the United States.
Ultimately, nature itself showed the way
to the master brewers: The fermentation
of water and malt – absolutely naturally as
in traditional brewing – became the key to
this new beverage. All ingredients originate
from “controlled organic cultivation” and
are 100 percent officially certified. The
addition of colorings or preservatives is
strictly prohibited. Moreover, owing to
the special processing method, Bionade
contains up to 30 percent less sugar, and
thus fewer calories than conventional
sugary soft drinks. A high level of social
responsibility and ecological behavior have
CSR Made in Germany
been inseparably linked to the notion of
Bionade right from the onset. “We believe
that societal change needs role models
and acting in common. Hence we are
committed to alternatives to conventional
cultivation methods in conjunction with
our partners,” says Kowalsky. Bionade’s
understanding of sustainability is rooted
in the principle of regionalism, which
is linked to the principles of organic
farming. For the purpose of the sustainable use of agriculture and protection
of the ecosystems, and thus people, it is
far better to promote the cultivation of
plant-based raw materials in accordance
with the standards of organic farming,
adds Kowalsky.
Thus, 800,000 liters more of rainwater
are verifiably added to the groundwater
each year. Bionade is one of the first companies in Germany that has committed
itself to the protection of and increase
in the amount of drinking water on a
large scale.
Thus, Bionade initiated the “Bio-Landbau
Rhön” project in 2005. The aim of this
innovative cooperation is to cultivate
as many raw materials for Bionade as
possible in its home region. Almost 100
percent of the elderberry required is
grown right outside its door, so to speak,
in the Rhön biosphere reserve by now.
The result is short transport routes,
guaranteed traceability, and support
for the own region.
Another long-standing cooperation is
in place with the “Trinkwasserwald e.V.”
association. The project of “We plant
drinking water” regenerates the drinking water Bionade needs in a year for the
bottling of its products. In conjunction
with Trinkwasserwald e.V. and school
children from throughout Germany,
Bionade is transforming monoculture
coniferous forests into deciduous forests.
p. 61
Best Practices
Sustainable Consumption
Tradition + Convictions =
Success
What do entrepreneurs Dr. Michael Otto,
Anton-Wolfgang Graf von Faber-Castell, Claus
Hipp, and siblings Marli Hoppe-Ritter and
Alfred T. Ritter all have in common? A long
tradition in business, unwavering convictions,
and success that proves them right. All of them
have integrated sustainable business practices
into their corporate concepts and have
products that enjoy worldwide recognition.
their catalog and furniture manufacturing, the company and
the enterprises within its Group use wood that is certified by
the Forest Stewardship Council. As for household appliances,
the company only includes products with a high level of energy
efficiency. In Dr. Michael Otto’s words, “Persistent destruction
of the environment can hinder social and economic advances
or even ruin them. This is why it is important to us to offer environmentally friendly and socially compatible goods in our
product ranges and to orient our business by these criteria.”
Anton-Wolfgang Graf von Faber-Castell:
Dr. Michael Otto:
The story of the Otto Group began in the 1950s with one shoe
shipment. In the six decades since, the company has developed
into the largest mail-order firm in the world. Dr. Michael Otto,
who joined his father’s business in 1971, plays a leading role in
these operations. Today the company consists of e-commerce,
service, and financial services departments. Besides Germany,
its highest sales markets include the United States, France, Great
Britain, and Russia. The Otto Group promotes the sale of sustainable products through global shipping: For example, they sell
goods from the “Cotton made in Africa” project – goods that are
made from sustainably grown cotton and in accordance with
social and environmental standards. Wood is another of the raw
materials that the Otto Group uses most, along with cotton. In
p. 62
Pencils have been manufactured at the Faber-Castell castle
for 250 years. Despite increasing competition from products
such as tablet computers, items such as pencils, fountain pens,
and ballpoints still hold a solid place in our everyday lives.
Faber-Castell extracts some benefit from this too: In 2011, the
company did €538 million in sales – an increase of 19 percent
over the previous year.
The company operates and markets its products in Europe,
North America, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region, and
has registered sharp growth in the latter two. Anton-Wolfgang
Graf von Faber-Castell, who took over the company from his
father in 1978, has consistently advocated consideration for the
environment and the protection of its resources. Twenty-five
years ago, Faber-Castell initiated a forestry project in Brazil
that was certified by the Forest Stewardship Council as being environmentally friendly, socially fair, and economically
CSR Made in Germany
Sustainable Consumption
sustainable. Environmental protection programs are firmly
integrated into the forestry management of the 10,000-hectare
plantation, including soil and water analyses to protect against
erosion as well as environmental education for the population
and protection of flora and fauna. The change from traditional
varnishes to environmentally friendly water-based varnishes
for its colored and lead pencils is also beneficial to the environment. Faber-Castell developed this water-based varnish on its
own and introduced the technology in 1992.
Best Practices
“To me, sustainability means keeping the world livable and
lovable for the next generation. Our job is to be vigilant about
the quality of the soil, avoid exhaustive cultivation, and handle
raw materials responsibly.”
Marli Hoppe-Ritter and Alfred T. Ritter:
Claus Hipp:
HiPP is known for baby food that has been pleasing children
and adults alike for many years. Georg Hipp, the father of the
current company director, Claus Hipp, laid the foundation for
this success in 1956, when he switched to organic products. This
move did not make him very popular; to the contrary, many of
his staff and farmers did not ascribe to his concept. But Georg
Hipp could not be deterred. He promised the farmers personally that he would do the work of convincing people.
Ten years later, Claus Hipp came aboard at the company,
continuing his father’s ideas and developing HiPP into one of
the largest baby-food manufacturers in the world. Today over
6,000 farmers from all over the world supply HiPP with organic
staples such as fruit, vegetables, and meat. The cultivation of
organic foods for HiPP spares over 15,000 hectares of soil and
groundwater each year from over 4,000 tons of artificial fertilizer and 5,000 kilograms of pesticides. As Claus Hipp puts it,
CSR Made in Germany
Siblings Marli Hoppe-Ritter and Alfred T. Ritter are the third
generation to head Alfred Ritter, the company started in 1912 as
a chocolate and sweets factory. The chocolate manufacturer saw
sales of 140 million in the first half of 2011 – an increase of some 10
percent. The Ritter Sport brand is now sold in about 90 countries,
and the company makes preserving natural resources a priority.
With the aim of preserving resources and improving the living
conditions of local people, the company has been supporting
small farmers in Nicaragua since 1990 through the “Cacaonica”
project. In that time, the cooperative founded by Ritter Sport
has developed into a coalition of around 20 cooperatives with
several hundred farmers. Aid is primarily based on transmitting
knowledge of organization, business operations, and agriculture.
There is also a focus on environmentally friendly agro-forestry
management practices. While the farmers are not required to
sell their raw materials to Ritter Sport, the company pays more
than the world market price for cacao. With an eye toward
environmental protection, Ritter Sport has also converted its
packaging from composite material to completely recyclable
single-material (polypropylene) packaging. The significant
decrease in packaging weight has saved some 1,000 tons of
packaging each year for the 100 g Ritter Sport squares alone.
p. 63
Best Practices
Societal Responsibility
Societal Responsibility
“Eradicating extreme poverty continues to be one of the main challenges of our time, and is a
major concern of the international community. Ending this scourge will require the combined
efforts of all, governments, civil society organizations and the private sector, in the context of a
stronger and more effective global partnership for development. The Millennium Development
Goals set timebound targets, by which progress in reducing income poverty, hunger, disease,
lack of adequate shelter and exclusion — while promoting gender equality, health, education and
environmental sustainability — can be measured. They also embody basic human rights — the rights
of each person on the planet to health, education, shelter and security. The Goals are ambitious but
feasible and, together with the comprehensive United Nations development agenda, set the course
for the world’s efforts to alleviate extreme poverty by 2015.”
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
p. 64
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Societal Responsibility
Best Practices
Human Development Index
Very High
High
Medium
Low
No data
The HDI combines measures of life expectancy, literacy, educational attainment, and GDP per capita
for countries, so only four of several possible development measures, which is why some have called
the HDI a “crude” measurement. The index was developed in 1990 by Mahbub ul Haq, Sir Richard Jolly,
Gustav Ranis and Lord Meghnad Desai, and is used to rank countries by level of “human development.”
Source: Human Development Report 2011 of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
CSR Made in Germany
p. 65
Best Practices
Societal Responsibility
Sustainable Economic Development As a Means of Achieving
Justice in Globalization
In today’s globalized world, many
countries, in particular developing ones,
are facing multiple challenges. In order
to address these challenges and harness
existing potential, German development
cooperation focuses on education, health,
rural development, good governance,
and sustainable economic development
with a view to achieving justice in
globalization.
Sustainable economic development is vital for growth and
prosperity. Economic growth that reaches all sections of
the population must therefore be at the core of any poverty
reduction strategy. It needs to balance people’s economic,
political, and social living conditions on the one hand with
the long-term conservation of vital natural resources on the
other. Therefore, the principles of the social and ecological
market economy serve as the regulatory frame of reference
for the BMZ’s (Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation
and Development) economic promotion activities.
In the developing world, as elsewhere, a thriving economy
is important in enabling countries to take responsibility for
independently building a better future for themselves. Our
experience has shown that economic development cannot
be decreed by government but that a vibrant private sector
is needed to create jobs and income and to provide skills,
knowledge, and capital.
More and more enterprises are accepting their responsibility,
taking account of sustainable development criteria in their
business strategies, and committing themselves to comply
with ecological and social standards. They are doing this, not
least, in order to maintain their international competitiveness.
Corporate social responsibility has become an important
competitive factor in the globalized world economy. It is a
new currency for better development results.
The BMZ pursues a broad variety of efforts in support of corporate social responsibility, often in cooperation with the
German private sector. We support our partner countries’
governments in setting up a social and ecological market
system that fosters enterprises with sustainable business
operations and precludes harmful business practices, for
example by supporting the promotion of responsible private
investment as part of the G20 development agenda. The
promotion of environmental and social standards plays an
important role in this context. We work to strengthen the
dissemination and enforcement of internationally recognized standards for entrepreneurial activities, for example
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Best Practices
» More and more enterprises
are accepting their responsibility, taking account of sustainable development criteria in
their business strategies. «
Hans-Jürgen Beerfeltz
by supporting the UN Global Compact. And we work toward
binding bilateral and multilateral agreements in the international community so as to create a reliable international
environment for enterprises. For example, we supported the
drafting of the Ruggie Guidelines at the UN level, which for
the first time lay down specific instructions for governments
as well as enterprises on how to integrate human rights in
economic relations. Partnership-based cooperation between
government and the private sector – both internationally and
within our partner countries – is vital for achieving sustainable economic development.
The BMZ acts as facilitator, advisor, and moderator in relevant dialog and negotiation processes between all relevant
stakeholders. These processes range from the introduction
of voluntary social and ecological standards in partner countries to the strengthening of enterprises’ responsibilities for
human rights all the way through to creating transparency
with a view to fighting corruption. For example, we support
the establishment of strategic alliances with enterprises with
a view to implementing national and international standards
CSR Made in Germany
in value chains. In cooperation with other donors, we have
set up the Business Anti-Corruption Portal, which provides
detailed information about 60 developing and emerging
economies as well as helpful tools and practical support for
anti-corruption work.
Development policy is an investment in the future that is in
everyone’s interest. In that sense, it is a global structural policy.
We want to join other actors, especially the private sector, in
breaking new ground on the way to viable and fair global
development on the basis of human rights and democracy.
Hans-Jürgen Beerfeltz is the State Secretary of the
Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the former Vice-President of the German
Federal Agency for Civic Education, and the Chair of
the Supervisory Board of the GIZ.
p. 67
Best Practices
Societal Responsibility
“Many Companies are Already
Embracing Responsibility”
Welthungerhilfe is a private,
non-profit, politically
independent, and nondenominational relief
organization that works
under the patronage of
the German President.
It provides a range of
assistance measures: from
immediate emergency aid
in the wake of disasters
to long-term projects
carried out in cooperation
with local partners. Since
1962 Welthungerhilfe
has carried out over 6,600
projects in 70 countries. We
spoke with its President,
Bärbel Dieckmann, about
overcoming hunger and
poverty.
The problem of global poverty has seen
little real improvement. Rich industrialized
nations are becoming less involved. The
Millennium Development Goals, formulated by the UN as a strategy to combat
poverty, are not expected to be achieved.
Have we failed?
Bärbel Dieckmann: No. We have achieved
great successes in the last 50 years, such as
the global improvement in education. The
incidence of many diseases has declined,
as has infant and maternal mortality. But
the struggle against hunger and poverty
remains the greatest aim of humankind,
and the greatest global challenge. One
billion people live in poverty and are excluded from globalization. Nine hundred
million people are going hungry, 250
million children are working, 20 percent
of all people have no access to clean water,
developing countries are suffering from
the consequences of climate change and
soil degradation – this is a deplorable state
of affairs that we must work together to
change. There is an urgent need for action
among all actors in society – in politics,
industry, and civil society.
Over the decades, various political models
for development cooperation have been
attempted. What do you see as being the
best approaches?
What we need are sustainable development programs that promote prosperity, social justice, and environmental
integrity. Economic development should
not come at the expense of social justice
and environmental integrity. The most
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important measures are investments
in rural development and in education.
Speaking of rural development: The effects of the financial crisis pose an existential problem at the local level, but so does
speculation in foodstuffs and raw materials.
What is Welthungerhilfe demanding from
politics and from participants in capital
markets?
Price speculation on foodstuffs increased
food prices by some 10 to 15 percent in
the last financial crisis, so we are calling
for better monitoring of the financial
markets. Responsible economic management in a globalized world has to mean
supporting developing countries as they
go through processes of change, rather
than harming them.
Some critics complain that development aid has made developing countries
poorer and more corrupt, and has fostered
bureaucracy and dependence. What would
you say to them?
In a globalized world, the countries in
the South, which – for various reasons
– are less developed than countries in
the North, are the ones that need our
help. This is the only way that we can
begin to equalize our respective living
conditions. If the people most affected
are the ones forced to make a move, it
will lead to war and unrest. The struggle
for resources has already begun. Even
today, a whole series of current crises
are due to climate change. Many of the
droughts and floods are caused by the
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Societal Responsibility
North’s influence on the climate. The
developing countries must make the
most adjustments, but they are not the
ones emitting CO2. This is why corporations can and must play a key role. Many
things have not happened until it has
been far too late, but the process now
looks to be moving along.
adoption of credible responsibility as part
of CSR must be measurable and verifiable.
Many companies are already embracing
this responsibility through means such
as donations.
How would you characterize a responsible corporation?
No. Our sponsors include many committed
companies whose names stand for social
responsibility. Many of our projects could
not be carried out without the willingness of companies to donate money. To
meet the challenges of development
cooperation, we need more than just
the large multinational corporations
that are able to provide direct support
from their locations. All companies can
Business is already taking responsibility for the global effects of its actions on
humanity and the environment. International standards such as those set out in
the Ten Principles of the Global Compact
must be the minimum requirement for
companies. What's more, the explicit
Don't companies often do this just for
sake of appearances?
» In a globalized world, the
countries in the South, which
– for various reasons – are less
developed than countries in
the North, are the ones that
need our help. «
Bärbel Dieckmann
CSR Made in Germany
Best Practices
Bärbel Dieckmann
Bärbel Dieckmann is President
of Welthungerhilfe and former
Mayor of the city of Bonn.
help out in this area and review the way
that they do business. CSR should always
promote compliance with national and
international laws as well.
What are some subjects and fields where
companies should become more involved
in the future?
The first priority is to combat hunger and
poverty. More explicitly, energy scarcity
is one of the largest problems that developing countries face. Many experts say
that the energy issue should have been
included as one of the Millennium Goals,
but it was forgotten at the time. We also
urgently need solutions for water and
machines in agriculture.
p. 69
Best Practices
Societal Responsibility
“Living Responsibility”
at Deutsche Post DHL
Deutsche Post DHL, the world’s leading mail and logistics company
with around 470,000 employees worldwide, recognizes that its
market leadership comes with a special responsibility to benefit
the world. As a publicly listed global company, Deutsche Post DHL
is faced with navigating the delicate balance between economic,
environmental, and social interests. The company has therefore
made corporate social responsibility an integral part of its overall
business strategy. Unified under the motto “Living Responsibility,”
the company’s CSR efforts are channeled into three programs:
GoGreen – environmental protection; GoHelp – disaster management; and GoTeach – education. When developing the three key
programs, it was considered crucial that they positively impact
society and the environment as well as the company itself. The
example of Deutsche Post DHL’s humanitarian logistics program
GoHelp demonstrates that both are possible.
p. 70
Disaster response
Year after year, the world is confronted with news about
the havoc wreaked by earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods,
demonstrating how helpless humans are in the face of
natural catastrophes, and how life-shattering they can be.
When earthquakes, cyclones, or flooding have devastated
a region, help usually comes from the international community with international aid workers and relief goods
flying into regional airports. Especially in smaller and less
developed countries, the airports are quickly congested by
the food, medical supplies, and tents arriving from all over the
world. Very often, the small regional airports are equipped
to handle just a few commercial flights a day, and very few
are able to handle cargo machines effectively. This is where
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Societal Responsibility
the DHL Disaster Response Teams (DRTs) step in to alleviate
the bottleneck, cooperating closely with the UN Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Should
a natural catastrophe occur, OCHA issues an official request
for the deployment of Deutsche Post DHL’s DRTs. A written
agreement is made in advance, usually together with local
authorities or relief organizations, regarding both the place
and duration of deployment.
The DRTs consist of some 500 employee volunteers worldwide who are specially trained to handle the challenges of a
deployment. The team members help manage the logistics of
disaster relief goods arriving at the airports. Together with local
authorities and airport staff, they take care of incoming relief
goods and help set up and manage professional warehousing,
which includes the sorting and inventorying of goods. DHL has
three DRTs in place covering the world’s regions that are most
vulnerable to natural disasters: DRT Americas in Panama, DRT
Middle East / Africa in Dubai, and DRT Asia Pacific in Singapore.
The teams are ready for deployment within 72 hours after being
called. Each deployment involves a total of 20 - 25 volunteers,
with teams of 5 - 10 working at the airport for about a week
before being replaced by the next team. The support by the
DRTs is provided free of charge. Initiated with the UN in 2005,
the disaster response program has proven to be an important
support in tackling logistical problems.
Disaster preparedness
Effective disaster relief hinges on airport logistics, and it includes preparing people and facilities for the unpredictable.
As if disasters were not devastating enough, a post-disaster
situation can quickly turn from bad to worse when international relief aid begins to arrive but cannot reach the people in
need. The training program “Get Airports Ready for Disaster”
(GARD) helps break this cycle by stepping in before disaster
occurs. GARD is designed specifically for airports located in
disaster hot-spot areas. The program guides local communities in pro-actively identifying surge capacity gaps as part of
their disaster response mechanisms before disaster strikes. The
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Best Practices
training was developed in 2008 by Deutsche Post DHL and the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It offers a
hands-on approach to disaster preparedness, mixing classroom
elements, on-site assessment work and applied surge capacity
assessment reports to provide airport authorities and local officials with the tools and know-how they need to make their
facilities and people disaster-ready.
GARD was piloted in 2009 at the Makassar and Palu airports
in Indonesia, both located on the earthquake-prone island
of Sulawesi. After training individuals and getting these two
hot-spot airports disaster-ready, the program was adapted for
other regions of the world. In 2010 GARD was taken to Nepal.
DHL experts worked with the UNDP, Nepal’s national disaster
agency, and local airport authorities to prepare a total of five
airports. In 2011, the DHL trainers established GARD at two
airports in Bangladesh and still another two airports in Indonesia. In addition, participants from 15 other airports were
trained. Deutsche Post DHL plans to roll out GARD to other
disaster-prone regions throughout the world.
Employees are actively involved
And how does this fit into the company’s overall strategy?
Deutsche Post DHL wants corporate social responsibility to
be an integral part of its everyday business. Initiatives carried
out in the spirit of “Living Responsibility” are not only humanitarian acts. They also play a significant role in ensuring the
long-term success of the company by improving employee
motivation and identification, increasing recognition for CSR
engagement, enhancing reputation among customers, and
thus strengthening competitiveness. The idea behind “Living
Responsibility” is directed in great part toward the company’s
employees – and they have responded. All around the world,
the employees demonstrate daily their enthusiasm for and
commitment to GoHelp, GoGreen, and GoTeach by volunteering their time and expertise. Those who have spoken with DRT
members can feel the sense of pride they have in being part of
the effort – the effort of offering humanitarian logistics in a
very specific, true-to-company way.
p. 71
Best Practices
Societal Responsibility
BASF: Securing Yields
Through Sustainability
How do we respond to the world’s increasing
demand for food while protecting the
environment and biodiversity for future
generations? BASF’s sustainable agricultural
work helps to address these global
challenges. They provide farmers with
reliable and innovative products, but also
support them with know-how.
BASF understands the many challenges farmers face today – running a successful business, protecting the land they live on and
farm, as well as providing us all with an increasing quantity of
healthy, affordable food. Many farmers around the world simply
do not have access to the right products or to technology that
is individually tailored to their needs. Alternatively, they may
not have the appropriate knowledge or skills. According to a
UN report, every second person suffering from chronic hunger
is a small-scale farmer. If these smallholder farmers are lucky,
their harvests are just about sufficient to meet their family’s
needs. They could significantly improve their finances and
the well-being of their families by increasing yields. However,
according to a study by Deutsche Bank Research, farmers need
access to education, knowledge, capital, loans, markets, and
risk-management strategies.
In India, soybean yields have been extremely low in international comparison, amounting to only about a third of the
worldwide average. The BASF India team found that there were
many reasons – inappropriate fertilization, excess seeding,
and incorrect use of crop protection products coupled with a
general lack of knowledge about good agricultural practice.
Knowledge transfer
In 2006, the “Samruddhi” idea was born. Meaning prosperity in
Sanskrit, Samruddhi represents a holistic business approach that
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helps farmers and their communities become more sustainable.
The idea was simple: Talk with farmers, find ways to boost their
yields and profitability, and offer hands-on advice. In 2007, the
Samruddhi project was initiated in Madhya Pradesh, an Indian
state, where about 75 percent of the land used for soy cultivation is located. BASF sent 280 agronomists to work with farmers.
Starting three months before planting and ending when the
soybeans were sold to market, these agronomists conducted
thousands of workshops, harvest days, market days, and visits
to individual farms. Each agronomist provided support and
guidance to around 150 to 225 farmers. Advice ranged from
selecting the right seed to educating farmers as to when they
should apply crop-protection products during the harvest, in
addition to advice being offered about sales and cost-control
measures such as price-making and negotiation practices. Each
farmer received an individual worksheet to help them track
costs and earnings and to calculate profit per acre.
The results were amazing – in 2008, the soybean yield increased
by 31 percent compared to traditional cultivation methods, with
farmers increasing their net income by 60 percent. In 2009,
comparative yield increases averaged 24 percent, despite a
severe drought. Mahendra Singh (a 32-year-old who owns a sixacre farm) in Sayri, India, has used Samruddhi practices for the
last two years. “Thanks to Samruddhi, my yield has increased
from six quintals per acre to eight quintals per acre. With this
additional income, I was able to get my house repaired and
buy a generator for irrigation work. This year, I am planning
to purchase a motor bike.”
While the initial project benefitted about 30,000 Indian farmers, the success story is ongoing. In 2008, the Department of
Agriculture of the State of Madhya Pradesh signed a Memorandum of Understanding for activities in an additional region,
the Harda District. Currently, around 170,000 farmers in India
are collaborating with 700 BASF agronomists in order to make
soy cultivation as sustainable as possible. The project has also
delivered business benefits for BASF. In the period 2006 to 2009,
the company saw revenues for its soybean plant-protection
products increase 60 percent annually.
CSR Made in Germany
Societal Responsibility
As part of the “Samruddhi” project in India, BASF employees
offer one-to-one advice to farmers.
Best Practices
Encouraged by this success, BASF has ambitious goals for the
future. Similar projects will make potato cultivation in India
more sustainable, and help increase the yield of chilies, guar
beans, and peanuts. In 2010, BASF extended Samruddhi to Indonesia and Sri Lanka. BASF also plans to launch a customized
version of the project in Africa.
Respecting nature and biodiversity
Sustainable agriculture is not just about increasing yields, but
also about taking nature and biodiversity into account. A project
in the United Kingdom illustrates how conventional farming
methods and biodiversity can co-exist in mutual harmony.
Since 2002, BASF has been working with a conventional farmer
near a small English village, Rawcliffe Bridge. Within just a
few years, the Hinchliffe family’s arable farm has developed
into an attractive habitat for around 100 bird and 150 plant
species, some of them endangered. The idea was developed in
collaboration with the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group
and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
Sustainable agriculture is not just about increasing yields, but
also about taking nature and biodiversity into account.
Students learning on site: A new generation learns about combining sustainable agriculture and biodiversity.
CSR Made in Germany
One hectare near woodland was sown with a grass mix while
two hectares nearby were sown with field margin mixtures – all
aimed at encouraging beneficial insects, and farmland birds,
for example skylarks. The farm also provides popular retreats
for animals like the water vole and the brown hare. Some
farming practices were also slightly changed to minimize the
impact to birds and their source of food, particularly at nesting
time. “I want to stress that there was almost no impact to our
commercial business – we didn’t use any special methods – the
only commitment on our side was patience, a willingness to
modify some farming practices, and a bit of time,” explains Mr.
Hinchliffe, manager of the family farm.
The results show that commercial farming systems – based
on best practice – combined with sensible field margin and
woodland management can deliver best practice biodiversity
without impacting the commercial viability of the farm. This
example sets a new precedent and should serve to inspire
farmers everywhere.
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Best Practices
Societal Responsibility
Water for Megacities
The majority of people today live in
cities. In the decades to come, population
growth and changes in the climate will
significantly increase this trend: The UN
estimates that by 2050 some 70 percent
of the global population will be living in
urban environments. Most people will be in
megacities with insufficient infrastructure.
This is why German development aid
organizations, local companies, and
research institutions are putting more effort
into developing solutions for better water
infrastructure and water supply.
friendly: Water from flush toilets can be treated and supplied
to companies as reclaimed water – and sewage gas can be
generated in the process, to be used to supply energy. Field
applications have yet to be determined.
Leaks mean water loss
In the Hessen city of Ladenburg, on the other hand, people
are relying on ABB (Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.) of Zurich for a
completely integrated water management system. After several years of research and development collaboration with
seven colleges and two water suppliers, ABB is now offering
a market-ready system that should take care of the problem
of water loss because of leaks – so-called seepage – in piping
systems. Along with the difficulty of detecting and locating
holes in the pipes, transporting water takes a lot of energy.
Damage to the systems substantially increases the amounts of
These solutions also include water-supply and disposal systems
that must be flexibly adapted to the specific conditions in various cities. Conventional, centralized systems cannot fulfill this
purpose. The IWAR institute at Technical University Darmstadt
– in collaboration with the National Engineering Research Center
for Urban Pollution Control at TongJi University, which is their
partner university in Shanghai – has therefore developed an
approach to flexible infrastructural systems that make efficient
use of resources: the “semicentral” concept, based on smaller
supply and disposal systems that can be expanded as needed
and focus on water reuse. Most wastewater treatment plants
are located far outside cities, which increases the cost of water
treatment. The semicentral concept should make it possible
to situate these inside the city proper. The buildings for the
semicentral sewage treatment plants will be about the size of
a multilevel parking garage and will be able to supply water to
100,000 people simultaneously. For example, the wastewater
from showers or washing machines can be collected, purified,
and resupplied as water for flushing toilets. Not only does
semicentral conserve resources, it is also environmentally
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Societal Responsibility
energy used and carbon dioxide emitted. ABB’s solution gives
water suppliers a comprehensive view of their supply network,
which makes it possible to achieve sustainable operation and
foresighted maintenance of the supply network.
Its most important element is the system to detect and manage
leaks. It gathers data from such sources as hydraulic simulations,
analytical algorithms, and geographic systems, and in this way
enables early detection and site-specific containment of leaks.
The faster detection significantly reduces the amount of water
lost. An integrated energy-management solution also offers
high potential for savings. It automatically coordinates the
pumps and valves distributed throughout the network, based
on information such as water usage data, reservoir levels, pressure indicators, and electricity charges. An additional alarm
management system alerts the water supplier to problems
in the network and analyzes them by their negative effects;
A single SkyHydrant can accommodate the drinking water
needs of a community of up to 1,000 inhabitants.
CSR Made in Germany
Best Practices
this type of classification according to priority can improve
emergency management capability.
According to ABB, a water supplier using this system with a
supply area of 12 million people and a leakage rate of over 20
percent could save enough water to supply a city of 320,000
inhabitants. The potential for energy savings could be up to
30 million kilowatt hours per year.
Mobile water supply – the Siemens SkyHydrant
Siemens, with its SkyHydrant water filtration system, is also
tackling water-supply issues. This solution developed by
Siemens Water Technologies transforms tainted water into
drinking water by using low pressure to force the liquid
through a membrane system. An ultra-fine filter removes
pathogens and impurities. The SkyHydrant produces some
10,000 liters of drinking water per day, and its height of approximately 1.5 meters and weight of 12 kilograms allows it
to be easily transported. The installation and operation of
the machine has also been kept deliberately simple. In addition, it uses an extremely low amount of energy, needs no
chemicals, and permits the reuse of precious drinking water.
The system was originally developed for rural areas in order
to improve local living conditions and to prevent migration
from the countryside. Since then, some 900 units have been
put into operation in 42 countries. Some SkyHydrants can
also be found in large cities in countries such as Bangladesh,
Haiti, India, and Cambodia, where they are of great use in
slums. Siemens is also continuing to develop this water purifier,
which has resulted in the AquaVendor. The AquaVendor has
the same functions as the SkyHydrant, but with two important
differences: With the AquaVendor, manual operation is no
longer required. A control system takes care of the regulation,
the filtration process, and the purification. At 25,000 liters of
drinking water per day, the AquaVendor also produces substantially more than its predecessor. All that is required for its
operation is a power point, and it is designed for apartment
buildings, hotels, or small industrial operations in areas with
weak infrastructure.
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Best Practices
Societal Responsibility
Mercedes-Benz in South Africa:
Siyakhana Health Trust
The Siyakhana SME Project forms part of a portfolio of significant
corporate social responsibility initiatives implemented by companies in the Mercedes-Benz Group in South Africa to mitigate
the impacts of HIV / AIDS on disadvantaged members of society.
South Africa’s Minister of Health, Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi, acknowledges that South Africa is struggling with a quadruple
burden of diseases and health issues: HIV and tuberculosis;
maternal and child mortality; non-communicable diseases; and
violence, injuries, and trauma. To deal effectively with these,
he believes that there is an urgent “need to find creative and
innovative ways to deal with all four contributors to morbidity
and mortality in a way that balances national needs. For this to
take hold, partnerships between governments, regions, and
the international community, including technical partners,
bilateral agencies and agreements, as well as the multilateral
organizations, are critical.”
The South African private sector contributes about 42 percent of
the country’s GDP and over half of all private sector employees
work for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). Unlike
their corporate counterparts, SMEs in South Africa typically
cannot afford to pay for the HIV / AIDS treatment, care, and
support of their employees and dependents, and historically
they have provided inadequate provisions for the funding of
healthcare benefits.
Mercedes-Benz initiated the Siyakhana SME Project in 2006 in
an attempt to catalyze the wider local business community of
the Border-Kei region of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The
lessons learned from a successful workplace intervention have
informed the approach of Mercedes-Benz South Africa to HIV /
AIDS awareness-raising and support in the broader community.
At first, they ensured that the SME Project was extended to
suppliers, aligning it with the company’s strategic objective
of managing risk in its supply chain. However, the need was
clearly broader and was most urgent in smaller companies.
Before taking action, Mercedes-Benz met with national and
local governments and held a summit with the National
Department of Health to explain their rationale at the end of
p. 76
2005. The SME Project furthermore delivers nurse and doctor
training on treatment of HIV / AIDS and tuberculosis as well as
the training of SME managers and peer educators.
SMEs subscribe to participate in the Siyakhana Project on a
biannual basis and do so by making financial contributions
that are linked to the size of their workforces. Each company is
represented in the project by one or two coordinators who are
trained by Siyakhana. Coordinators also take part in an ongoing capacity-building forum, where project implementation
and further development is tracked bimonthly.
Fifty-six SMEs have so far been supported by Siyakhana. Between 2006 and June 2011, Siyakhana conducted 85 successful
onsite HIV Counseling and Testing (HCT) campaigns, during
which over 13,500 employees received HIV education / counseling. Of those, over 10,500 took an HIV test, of whom well
over 1,000 were HIV positive.
The strength of Siyakhana is that it does not offer off-the-shelf
solutions, but is flexible and responsive enough to provide the
services that the SMEs require, helping them to manage the risk
of HIV / AIDS in their workplaces. All services are provided so as to
minimize interference in day-to-day operations of the businesses.
In preparation for enrolment into the Siyakhana treatment
program, candidates take part in a treatment literacy workshop,
where they are informed about available benefits, processes,
and procedures for accessing them as well as treatment options,
possible treatment-related challenges, and how to deal with
them. Currently, over 580 people receive HIV / AIDS treatment
through Siyakhana. This equates to 580 households that might
otherwise have suffered a lack of income had the disease not
been discovered and left untreated. The impact of the awareness creation campaign on the number of new cases seen since
the inception of Siyakhana is immeasurable. This provides a
win-win situation for both employers and employees.
Through achieving clear and measurable results, Siyakhana
has also built up a solid reputation as an efficient and trusted
CSR Made in Germany
Societal Responsibility
Best Practices
South Africa has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the
world – over 11 % of the population is estimated to be infected.
Siyakhana was designed as a project to assist SMEs to manage
the impacts of HIV and AIDS on their employees and businesses.
service provider to SMEs and employees in its region. Functional partnerships have been established with business, governments, and community stakeholders. Siyakhana is a joint
program of the Border-Kei Chamber of Business, from which
it receives both financial and non-financial support. It also has
a functional partnership with both Buffalo City Metropolitan
Municipality and the Eastern Cape Department of Health.
These stakeholders are represented on the Project Steering
Committee, which oversees project implementation. A Board
of Trustees composed of respected industry and community
leaders looks after project implementation and governance.
Although the SME Project has been a huge success, it soon
became clear to the Siyakhana partners that company-level
HIV and AIDS initiatives would be of limited success if the supporting healthcare systems and services were not improved.
Siyakhana also aimed to strengthen public primary healthcare
by conducting periodic quality-of-care audits and management advisory services in 10 selected clinics in the Buffalo
City Metropolitan Municipality, home of the Mercedes-Benz
manufacturing plant in South Africa. Two such audits were
carried out in September 2006 and May 2007 and both of them
showed that inadequate human resource capacity was the
single most important factor militating against the delivery
of good quality care in the affected clinics.
However, it has been a challenge to engage SMEs through the
recession, when even the small participation fee that companies
are expected to pay has been difficult to raise. The need for a
sustainable funding mechanism for the SME Project remains
a considerable challenge. In 2012, various funding options
will be explored further. Focus areas will include international
and local donors, corporations, participating SMEs, and public
sector business support agencies including the Department of
Labour, the International Labour Organisation, among others.
CSR Made in Germany
This public-private program was governed by a Memorandum
of Agreement between the Siyakhana Health Trust and the
Eastern Cape Department of Health and was guided by a
Steering Committee made up of stakeholder representatives
drawn from both the public and private sectors of the economy.
It received some financial support from the US government
through BroadReach Healthcare.
p. 77
Imprint
Publisher:
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Editor in charge: Dr. Elmer Lenzen
Editorial staff: Judith Bomholt, Dennis Lohmann
Photo Director: Marion Book
Art Director: Alexander Pawlak
Graphic Design: Katja Montag
Text Editor: Robert Furlong
Translations: Casey Butterfield
Authors (in alphabetical order):
Jürgen Becker, Hans-Jürgen Beerfeltz, Aiko Bode, Bärbel
Dieckmann, Johannes Geismann, Sebastian Gemeinhardt,
Gerd Hoofe, Dr. Robert Kloos, Doris Läer, Dr. Ursula von der
Leyen, Klaus Milke, Hans-Joachim Otto, Dr. Clifford Panter,
Thorsten Pinkepank, Dr. Tanja Rabl, Hans-Peter Repnik,
Birgit Riess, Britta Sadoun, Michael Scholing-Darby, Dr.
Nicola Schuldt-Baumgart, Prof. Dr. Joachim Schwalbach,
Tina Stridde, Michael Vassiliadis, Prof. Dr. Josef Wieland, Dr.
Hans Josef Zimmer, Yvonne Zwick
Cover: Pedro Castellano/LL28 Photography/iStockphoto
Photo Credits: BMAS (P. 3), Deutscher Bundestag/Stephan
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(P 4/5 middle, 34/35), Marion Book (P. 5 right, 8, 19 below,
44/45, 66 and 74), Ulla Trampert/pixelio.de (S. 7), Birgit Riess
(P. 9), Jean Jaques/Fotolia.com (P. 10), UN Photo/Michos
Tzovaras (P. 12), Hans-Peter Repnik (P. 13), Berlin Partner/
FTB-Werbefotografie/Presseamt Berlin (P. 17 above), Presseund Informationsamt Berlin (P. 17 left below), Robert Bosch
GmbH (P. 17 right below, 38/39), UN Photo/Mark Garten
(P. 18 left), Deutscher Bundestag/Presse-Service Steponaitis
(P. 18 right), Dr. Josef Wieland (P. 19 above), Prof. Joachim
Schwalbach (P. 21 below), NASA (P. 22/23), Ingo Bartussek/
Fotolia.com (P. 25 above), Jürgen Becker (P. 25 below),
EnBW (P. 26), Bayer (P. 28), Evonik/seb hovaguimian/Fotolia.
com (P. 29), Klaus Milke (P. 31), Fraunhofer IBP (P. 33), bilderbox/Fotolia.com (P. 36 above), Gerd Hofe (P. 36 below),
János Gehring/Fotolia.com (P. 40), Michael Vassiliadis (P. 41),
Volkswagen (P. 42/43), Dmitry Pistrov/Fotolia.com (P. 46),
Hans-Joachim Otto (P. 47), Aid by Trade Foundation/ Paul
Hahn (P. 48/49), AnnaC/Fotolia.com (P. 51 left), Chung SungJun/Getty Images/iStockphoto (P. 51 right), Marc Heiligenstein/Fotolia.com (P. 54/55), Pavel Losevsky/Fotolia.com
(P. 56), Dr. Robert Kloos (P. 57), BSH (P. 59), P!xel66/Fotolia.
com (P. 60), Bionade (P. 61), Otto Group (P. 62 left), FaberCastell (P. 62 right), Hipp (P. 63 left), Ritter Sport (P. 63 right),
jjayo/Fotolia.com (P. 64/65), Hans-Jürgen Beerfeltz (P. 67),
Welthungerhilfe (P. 69), Deutsche Post DHL (P. 70), BASF
(P. 73), Siemens (P. 75), Mercedes-Benz South Africa (P. 77)
Last updated: January 2012
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